To Mend a Broken Heart
by TruthOfSelf
Summary: After Inuyasha betrays her trust for the last time, Kagome finds herself in a magic school far from home. With odd dreams plaguing her sleep, and friends who seem to drag everyone they meet into trouble, life just got more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

**January 19th, 2012  
**

**Greetings! You're probably wondering why I've taken so bloody long to update. Well, the answer is a bit complicated, and mostly involves us moving, again, and me going back to school to finish my AA (finally). The last few months (more like most of the year...) have been a bit difficult. Work has been hard to find, and we've been struggling a bit. **

**I've decided that I wanted to make some changes to this story before I can continue it. I'm currently loading my edits, and hopefully they will lead to a better story. I sincerely apologize for the long wait.  
**

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart  
**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

It was now late summer; most of the flowers were beginning to fade, and leaves were starting to lose their brilliance. The heat was still part of daily life, however, the fall season not yet on the horizon. The hot sun beat down on Kagome as she climbed out of the well to the Feudal Era, giving her a slight surreal look. This was always her favorite season to be in the past. The sun was always shining, she didn't have to worry about school as much, and the group was always in a good mood; even Inuyasha. He still had his moments, usually when Shippo bothered him, or if she asked to go home for a few days. Originally, she had planned on being home for a week, but this time, something in the back of her mind told her she should return early. Usually trusting her instincts, she returned to the past after only three days.

Reaching the Goshinboku, she gave it a quick glance before heading off toward the village. Memories of when she first arrived always made their way into her head as she passed by the God tree. It all seemed so long ago now, and at the time it seemed like the end of the world, but thinking on it now, she realized it was probably one of the best things that had happened to her. She had never really given much thought before about history, and how certain actions could change what happened in the future. What would have happened if she hadn't gone into the past? The city of Tokyo was relatively devoid of demons in her time; some still showed up once in a while, but because of new techniques they were able to blend in a bit better. At least, that's what she thought.

Today was Kagome's first day of Summer vacation, and she needed to make sure they had enough supplies before they left on another jewel shard hunt. Knowing Inuyasha, he'd want to leave as soon as she arrived at Lady Kaede's hut. She knew that she would have to explain why she had taken so long to come back, but she really didn't care. It was a beautiful day and nothing would ruin her good mood. _'Well, maybe not nothing…' _she though bitterly. _'I wonder if Inuyasha's heard news of _her_ yet…'_

During her trip home this time, Kagome took some time to really think about what she wanted. She hadn't really thought about it much, having been too busy finding the jewel and splitting her time between the past and the present. When she asked her mom for advice, she had said to "take every opportunity that comes your way with grace, and an open mind. You never know what might come from a new experience." Her mom always seemed to know what to say when she was faced with a dilemma, and for that she was thankful. Ultimately, she had come to realize that perhaps her future held something more than just trying to get by in school and dealing with Inuyasha. Kaede had once told her that she was destined for great things, not because she was Kikyo's reincarnation, but because of her own power. "Much of your power remains unknown yet." Kaede had said. "It's up to you to discover your powers, and learn to control them."

'_I still don't really know what I want,' _Kagome thought to herself, '_but at least I can now let my tired mind rest.'_

* * *

The village was quiet that day; no demon activity had been seen for the past few days and the group was starting to get restless. Shippo had been annoying Inuyasha ever since Kagome had left for her era, wondering when she was coming back and, as usual, Inuyasha would get pissed and run off somewhere. Miroku was, as usual, flirting with the village women, which made Sango angry and she would beat him until she was satisfied. On any normal day it would have been amusing, but because of the lack of activity, everyone was noticeably tense.

And that's how Kagome found her friends.

"You know Sango, one day he's going to become immune to your beatings." Kagome said playfully as she dragged her friend off the monk.

"I can always try!" Sango exclaimed, huffing in anger. "There's no reason for him to chase after every woman that walks by."

Kagome shook her head. She knew Sango was just jealous and really did care for the monk, but she was having too much fun watching the two bicker all the time to really say or do anything. Even Shippo knew what was going on, though he was still a child. "Where's Shippo and Inuyasha?" she asked, looking around.

"Shippo's inside with Kaede-sama. Something about herbs…" Sango said. "As for Inuyasha, I haven't seen him since this morning. He just up and left toward the woods, saying he would be back by mid afternoon."

"Oh. Okay." Kagome looked sad for a moment, but covered it up quickly with a smile. "I'll go get him. I bet he's over by the Goshinboku."

"Wait, Kagome! Should I go with you?" Sango asked, reaching for her boomerang.

Kagome shook her head, smiling. "I'll only be gone a few minutes. I'll be fine. Here." She handed Sango her backpack. "There are some herbs in there that Kaede-sama would like. And give Shippo the candy bar in there too. I'm sure he'll love that."

"Sure. Come back soon, okay?"

Kagome walked away, waving behind her acknowledging the request. She knew exactly what would happen when she got back. Shippo would jump on her, excitedly telling her about all what happened while she was gone and show her his new drawing, Kaede would probably ask about the uses of the unusual herbs she brought back, and everyone else would start to prepare the evening meal. Such was the routine during the times they stayed in the village.

She continued walking, starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something was going to happen. She wasn't sure, but she felt another presence besides Inuyasha. Only having memorized the auras of her friends, she couldn't tell who the other was, but she decided to slow down and try and catch them. Rounding the corner of trees, she found a small clearing where she found Inuyasha and Kikyo and a tight embrace. She quickly jumped behind a try, not wanting to be noticed.

"…I've always loved you! Why can't you see that?" Inuyasha's voice said. "No one else matters."

"What about my reincarnation? You forget Inuyasha, I've seen the way you look at her. Why should I believe you when the way you look at her tells me you love her more?" Kikyo pushed Inuyasha away, glaring at him.

"She's nothing to me! She's just here to help gather the shards of the Shikon no Tama! As soon as we've got them all, I'll get rid of her." Inuyasha said.

Kagome couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was that all she was? A shard detector? Had he just been playing with her emotions all those times he'd cared for her when she was sad or hurt? Tears started to gather in her eyes, though she did not let them fall, as she continued to watch.

"What if we just got rid of her now?" Kikyo said in a monotone voice. "I could do it, and it would look like an accident. Then we could be together."

"The others would never believe me that it was you. They would instantly blame me." Inuyasha countered.

"What does it matter Inuyasha? Do you love me or not? If I kill the girl, I get my soul back. I won't last long in this shell of a body without the rest of my soul. If you truly love me, you'll let me kill her." Kikyo replied back icily.

Inuyasha nodded. "Fine."

"Good. Here she is now." Kikyo turned toward Kagome with an icy glare, making her freeze, unable to move. "I know you heard everything, girl. You'll finally get what you deserve." She turned toward Inuyasha who was still surprised to see Kagome standing there.

"No, I won't." Kagome said, her voice calm, betraying nothing of what she really felt. Turning to Inuyasha, she gave him a tired glare. "Is this what you really think of me? I'm just a "jewel detector?" When he glanced down at his feet with a guilt stricken look, Kagome turned to leave, not wanting to hear anymore. "I'm going home. Goodbye Inuyasha. I hope I never have to see you again. Don't bother following me, and don't even try and take the shards." She turned and started to walk away.

Inuyasha, hearing that she was taking the shards, growled in anger. "Bitch! You're not leaving here without first giving me those shards!"

Kagome turned. "You want them? Come get them." With that, she started running.

She ran blindly, trying to wipe away the tears that were starting to sting her eyes. _'He hates me. He really hates me. At least he's getting what he wants, and I hope he's happy with his choice…'_ She thought of all the things she hadn't said to him; how much she had loved him, wanted to be with him always. It all seemed so foolish now. She thought of her friends, her second family, and what they would do if they knew what just happened. She wouldn't leave forever, but maybe it was best if she left for a while.

As she came into view of the well, she felt something pierce her back, making her stumble to the ground, screaming in pain. She turned, and saw Kikyo not far behind her holding her bow, getting ready to launch another arrow. Kagome gritted her teeth, getting up slowly, wincing at the arrow lodged in her back. "I will not surrender to you." she said angrily. Before she could turn around and head for the well, she felt claws pierce her shoulder and deep into her side. She screamed, feeling the blood start to pour from her body. She fell to the ground, wincing at the pain. "I-Inu-Inuyasha…" She looked up, seeing Inuyasha's glaring face.

"Give me the jewel!" he shouted.

"NO!" Kagome jumped up again, grabbing her side to control the blood, and jumped down the well. As the familiar light surrounded her, she started to lose consciousness, but she thought she heard voices below her. _'If this isn't home, let it be somewhere where I can be at peace…' _and she knew no more…

* * *

A new year was beginning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the sorting ceremony had just been completed. Harry Potter was anxiously awaiting Dumbledore's speech so that they could begin the feast. His friend next to him, Ron Weasley, looked just as anxious. They were now in their fifth year and thankful to be back, especially Hermione, who was looking forward to starting the new school year. Each year, she took on way more than she could handle and they'd tried and failed every year to keep her out of the library for more than a week.

Dumbledore stood up at the head table, ready to make his speech for the newcomers. "Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts. I'm sure you are all looking forward to getting to know your new fellow classmates and begin studying, but for now, tuck in."

As he began to sit down to signal the feast to begin, a swarm of clouds started swirling in the night sky, and a flashing blue light filled the ceiling. As the light got brighter, a young girl fell from the enchanted ceiling and onto the Gryffindor table in front of Harry with a loud crash before falling off the table, onto the floor. A few students screamed before the hall fell silent, waiting to see if it was a trick. When no one moved, students started to panic. Harry was the first to react, immediately jumping up from his seat and kneeling to help the young woman. As others tried to get away or get closer, Harry touched her shoulder to pull her toward him. The first thing he noticed was that she was covered in blood, wounds scattered across her body, and an arrow sticking out of her back. Her outfit, which appeared to be some kind of school uniform, was torn and tattered, exposing the deep cuts along her arm and side. Her face was covered by her hair, which had fallen in front of her face. As Harry tried to move her, he heard a pained whimper and saw her bloodied hands clench slightly before she tried to get up herself. Her body shook as she tried to stand, only getting to her knees.

Slightly startled that she was trying to move herself, Harry reached out again to try and steady her, but her body gave up, and she fell limp against the cold floor.

Dumbledore quickly stood up. "Everyone, please follow the prefects to your dormitories immediately!" He shouted over the commotion.

There was a surge of movement as all the students tried to leave the Great Hall at once, pushing and shoving to get out as quickly as possible. Harry turned to leave reluctantly, wanting to know if the girl was okay, but as Ron and Hermione started pulling him away from her, he knew it would be better to let the teachers handle the situation. They looked back, watching as the professors made their way quickly over the young girl and lifting her onto a stretcher, some of the teachers talking quickly to each other with panicked expressions.

Dumbledore looked down at the young girl as they placed her onto a stretcher, carefully avoiding the arrow lodged in her back. She looked as if she had just come from battle, though as to what kind, he wasn't sure. He took his wand out from his robes and began to float the stretcher to the Hospital wing. She needed treatment, and fast.

"Poppy, please help me with this child." He said calmly.

Madame Pomfrey got out of her daze at her name. "O-of course!" She quickly made her way over to the young girl and helped the Headmaster move her without causing too much movement. "I wonder how in God's name this happened to her! She looks no older than fifteen!" She moved a stray hair out of the girl's face to get a better look at her. "I'm surprised she even survived that fall." she said.

"Albus, what should we do?" Professor McGonagall asked, still shaken.

"That's simple enough. She must stay here. She obviously has some magical ability, otherwise it would've been impossible to appear here the way she did. Though, I'm still puzzled myself as to how she appeared at all." He pondered as they walked up the stairs to the Hospital Wing.

They carefully laid the mysterious girl on one of the beds, turning her onto her side to avoid the arrow still protruding from her back. "Poppy, I'll leave her in your care." Dumbledore said. "Notify me, however, when she awakes. I would like to have a word with her."

Madame Pomfrey nodded dumbly, and pulled a curtain around the bed so that she could treat the girl's many injuries. The rest of the professors followed Dumbledore out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind them.

Sighing, Madame Pomfrey started undressing the girl to get better access to her wounds. Magically removing her bloddied top, she looked at the arrow in her back, gasping slightly at how deep it seemed to be. _'It's a wonder she's still alive! Who would do such a thing?'_

To minimize the pain of removing the arrow, she used a small numbing spell and carefully removed it. She heard the girl whimper slightly as the arrow was removed, but that was the only sound that came from her. Muttering a quick healing spell, she was surprised to see that nothing happened. She tried another spell, but again, nothing happened. "I guess I'll be healing her the old fashioned way." She muttered. She grabbed a numbing salve and spread some on each wound before carefully bandaging her wounds and dressed her in a pair of flannel pajamas, carefully laying her on her back and covered her with the blanket.

That was all she could do. It was now up to the girl to heal on her own.

* * *

"Who do you think she was?" Hermione asked as they sat in the Gryffindor common room. "Her wounds looked pretty bad."

"I don't know…maybe she got into some kind of fight and was sent here accidentally by her attacker?" Ron mused.

"Doubtful." Hermione said, looking through her book on transportation spells. "There's no spell in here that says that it's possible. I can't find any. There must be some sort of explanation. I mean, it's impossible to get onto the school grounds through magic."

"What if…what if she wasn't sent here on purpose?" Harry thought aloud. "What if it was a mistake that she ended up here? Is it possible that she was trying, or someone else was trying, to send her somewhere else?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Yes, that seems more likely. I'm sure we'll find out later."

"Hermione, did you notice anything strange about her injuries?" Harry said suddenly.

"No. Why?"

"There was an arrow sticking out of her back. I don't think anyone uses those kinds of weapons anymore. Not unless she's from a different country." Harry pointed out. "And those cuts on her arm and side. They were claw marks. I've never seen anything like that before."

"What if it was some kind of monster from another dimension?" Ron blurted.

Hermione glared. "Be serious Ronald. That doesn't even make sense."

"Let's get to bed guys. We have about 3 days before classes start and I want to go visit Hagrid tomorrow."

They bade each other goodnight, and headed toward their dormitories. Harry still pondered silently about the strange girl. Who was she? Where was she from? There were so many questions and no way to possibly answer them. There was one continuous thought that went though his head though. _'I hope she's okay…'_

* * *

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, quickly shutting them again at the brightness. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out or where she was, all she knew as that she hurt all over and she couldn't move without feeling pain. She looked over to her right and on the table by her bedside was her uniform, tattered and bloody. At least wherever she was, someone had the decency to put her in pajamas instead of leaving her unclothed. That was typical in the feudal era. Moving her head to look around some more, she noticed multiple beds along the wall.

'_A hospital?'_ As she tried to sit up, a sharp pain shocked her body, causing her to wince and fall back onto the bed. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she once again tried to sit up. This time she succeeded, though slowly and painfully. _'I don't think I'm in Japan anymore…' _she thought to herself. Looking down at herself, she noticed that she was in a pair of warm flannel pajamas and her injuries had been bandaged. _'It could've been a lot worse…I could be dead right now.' _she thought, remembering how Kikyo had shot her with an arrow.

Madame Pomfrey, noticing that Kagome was up and awake, immediately and quickly went to go and check on her. "Oh my goodness, you're up! How do you feel? You gave us all quite a scare when you fell from the ceiling, dear."

Kagome looked at her caretaker. _'I fell from a ceiling?' _"I-I don't know…my back hurts, and my side feels like it's on fire. Other than that I feel fine."

Madame Pomfrey looked shocked for a moment, and then smiled gently. "You were in pretty rough shape. I wasn't sure you were going to survive the night. What's your name, dear?"

Kagome looked up. She'd been trying to find out how she ended up here, wherever that was, and not back in her home. "Oh, sorry. I'm Kagome. Where am I exactly? I don't seem to be at home…"

"Well, Kagome, it's very nice to meet you. You may call me Madame Pomfrey. You're in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Kagome looked at her dumbly. "Magic? But…where am I? What country? What year?"

"Why, you're in England and it's 2010. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…the way I left where I was…it normally sends me to my house in Japan. At least the year is the same…"

"Well, I don't think I could be of much help to you, but I know the Headmaster would like to have a word with you. I'll go and get him and let him know you're up."

"Thank you so much. Um…Madame Pomfrey-san? W-would it be at all possible to get something to eat as well? I'm a bit hungry."

"Of course, dear. I'll get one of the students to bring you something. Breakfast should be about done now I think."

The nurse left the room quickly, leaving Kagome to ponder her thoughts. She was still confused as to how she got here, not knowing why the well didn't send her home. Still thinking about how she should go about getting home to her family, she gingerly laid back down onto the pillow, waiting for whoever was to bring her breakfast. _'I still feel so tired though. Healing takes too much energy. Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a minute...'_ Kagome closed her eyes, and almost instantly fell asleep, her mind wandering back to events that led to her arrival.

* * *

On her way to the Headmaster's office, Madame Pomfrey spotted Harry coming back from the Great Hall holding a few pieces of toast.

"Potter, could you take those up to the Hospital Wing and give them to that young girl? She needs something to eat; I'm on my way to get Dumbledore."

Harry blinked a few times before nodding. "Uhh…sure."

He made his way up to the Hospital Wing, passing by a few friends along the way who were just now heading to breakfast. He nodded or waved in politeness, but didn't stop for idle chat. He wanted to see if he could talk to the girl before Dumbledore got there. When he opened the door, he noticed that the girl had fallen asleep. He was a little disappointed; he had been hoping to get a chance to talk to her.

'_Oh well. I'll just leave this here and be on my way.'_ He thought.

He quietly set the breakfast items down on the side table and was about to leave when he heard her mumble something. He turned quickly, seeing if she was awake.

"N-no…don't…" she started tossing, wincing as she did so. It looked like a nightmare, and Harry had no idea what to do. If he didn't do anything, she could reopen her wounds, but if he did do something, he could make her mad if she woke up. "Stop…please…I-Inuyasha…leave me alone…" She began tossing even more, so Harry made the quick decision. He gently helped her into a sitting position and held her, moving some of her hair out of her face.

"No one's going to hurt you. You're safe." He whispered. She started trying to get away, using her injured arm to try and push him away. "Hey, you're okay, it's just a dream, wake up."

Kagome whimpered slightly at the pain that was returning to her back and side and opened her eyes, looking up at Harry with scared eyes.

"Are you okay?" He looked at her with concerned eyes.

Kagome nodded, wincing slightly. "I-I'm okay." She said, trying to move away from him, not really trusting him.

"Here, let me help you." He moved her pillow up against the back of the bed and proceeded to help her lean against it, mindful of the wound on her back.

Kagome looked at him for a moment, using her miko powers to read his aura. Though she felt drained from using even that small amount of energy, she decided that he wasn't going to harm her. "Thank you." she said quietly.

"Oh," he grabbed the toast he had brought up and handed it to her, "I brought you some breakfast. It's not much, but it's what I had."

Kagome smiled slightly. "Thank you...umm..."

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He was surprised when she didn't react to his name. He was so used to having people fawn over him all the time that he sometimes forgot that there were people who didn't know who he was. For once, it was welcome and he was glad.

"Thank you very much for your kindness Harry-san. I'm Kagome." She gave him a small smile.

"We're not interrupting anything here are we?" a voice came from the entrance.

Harry got up immediately and turned. "Professor Dumbledore, sir! I was just bringing Kagome some breakfast."

"Yes, Poppy mentioned something about someone bringing up something for our young guest. Now, if you will, I think I saw your friends looking for you down the hall." He winked and made his way over to a chair next to the bed.

Kagome watched as Harry left, almost sad to see him go. There was something about him that was different. _'His aura is calming. There's something different about him.' _she thought.

"Well my dear, you seem to have caught the attention of the entire school. You're the latest news spreading around." Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle.

Kagome looked down. "I'm sorry for disrupting anything here. I had no idea that the well would transport me here."

"There's no need to be sorry, my dear. But, what's this about a well?"

"The Bone-eater's well. It's a well that's on the grounds of my home. I was…I was trying to escape from someone." She said.

"Escape from who? Where is your home? Perhaps if you told me a bit of your story so that I may understand better how you came here."

She looked up at him, and sighed. "Please promise first that what you hear won't leave this room." she said quietly. "The only people who know who and what I am are my family, and I like to keep it that way."

Dumbledore eyed her carefully, as if trying to read her thoughts before he smiled and nodded. "You have no need to fear. What is said here will remain in confidence with me."

Kagome nodded. "What I'm about to tell you, most people wouldn't believe. I had a hard time believing it myself." She looked at him with a look of determination. "I am Kagome Higurashi - miko, time traveler, and keeper of the Shikon jewel." She saw his eyes widen slightly in recognition, but he remained silent. "Just before arriving here, I was in feudal Japan, though I am from this time period. I was returning from gathering supplies for our travels, when someone I thought was my friend tried to kill me." She looked at her lap to try and hide her distress. The well is my connection to the past. I remember falling in, trying to get home, but I guess I ended up here. I can guess from your look of recognition that you've heard of me, if only stories."

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded, his eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully. "I am aware of the stories surrounding the fabled Shikon jewel and its keeper. I knew them to be true, but never really knew the extent of its truth." He looked at Kagome with a kind smile. "You've been through a lot. I can understand why you would've wanted the well to lead somewhere safe, such as your home. Might I ask, are you aware of any magical ability that you might have hidden?" Dumbledore asked.

"I don't know. I only know that I'm a miko and have the ability to purify demons. Why do you ask?"

"I can think of no other way that you appeared here. It certainly wasn't by accident and it's impossible to enter this school unless you have some magical ability." He explained. "Now, if you would like, I could arrange for you to start school here and learn how to use those abilities. It's up to you though. I understand if you would rather go home."

Kagome thought about it for a moment. If she stayed, she would be able to possibly learn more about herself. She was also afraid to go home. Inuyasha was still able to get through the well and might come after her. _'And maybe I'll be able to go back one day soon and fulfill my promise to Miroku and Sango. Besides, there must be some reason why I was brought here.' _She looked at Dumbledore, determination in her eyes. "I'll stay." She said. "But, I must get home to explain what's going on to my family. Is there any way I can get to Japan from here?"

"Certainly. I'll set up a portkey that will take us directly. I do think you should wait at least one more day before you try and move. Madame Pomfrey said your wounds were quite serious."

Kagome looked down. "This should never have happened. Things were supposed to be different." she said sadly, tears forming in her eyes.

Dumbledore put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm truly sorry about what has happened."

Kagome shook her head. "I should have known it was too good to be true." She looked up at Dumbledore. "I would like to go back today, if that's possible. I don't care about my wounds. The longer I wait to go home, the more my family will worry about me. And my friends too. I have to let them know."

The headmaster looked at her thoughtfully. Seeing the determination in her eyes, he decided she could go. "I'll have a portkey set up within a half hour to take you to your home. And I'll have Madame Pomfrey bring you a spare uniform."

"Thank you."

Dumbledore nodded and left to find Madame Pomfrey, leaving Kagome alone once again. _'I wonder how mom is going to respond to this...'_ She chuckled slightly. Things were starting to look better already.

* * *

"This should take us directly to your front door. Be warned though, the ride is a bit jerky so hold on tight." Dumbledore said as he held out an old newspaper, which would be used to transport them to Japan.

Kagome nodded. She wondered how her family would react to her. She'd only been gone for a day or so. _'I bet now they wouldn't let me go back to the feudal era even if I begged them. Not after what happened.' _she thought, frowning slightly as she grabbed a corner of the paper.

She felt a sharp jerk near her nose and was suddenly pulled forward, surrounded by a blinding light. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it, she was on solid ground again, standing directly in front of her doorstep. "Wow. Is all transportation like that?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Not all of it. Just wait until you start flying on a broomstick."

Kagome grinned. She'd always wanted to be able to fly.

"Well, are we going in?"

"Oh, of course." She opened the door with her good arm, leading them into her home. "Okaa-san! Jii-chan! Souta! I'm home!"

A moment later, a woman slightly taller than Kagome with short, curly hair came into the room. "Kagome! What are you doing back? We didn't expect you for at least another week."

"I know…but…something happened." Kagome looked nervous. "I…"

Mrs. Higurashi looked at her daughter, noticing the white bandages that adorned her arm and went up her shirt. "What happened? Are you okay?" She rushed over to her, looking her over when she noticed Dumbledore behind her. "Hello there. Who are you?"

"Good day Mrs. Higurashi, I'm Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm here on the behalf of your daughter and would like to ask if it would be suitable for her to attend my school."

"Oh, of course! Why don't I make us a cup of tea and we can discuss this in the living room. I apologize for the mess ahead of time. Souta, my son, woke up late and just left for school."

"It's quite alright. Now, shall we?"

Mrs. Higurashi led them into a fairly large room with some comfy chairs and couches, inviting them to sit down. "I'll go make some tea."

"Okaa-san? I'm going to make a quick trip over to the feudal era. I...forgot something." Kagome said hurriedly. "You go ahead and start without me."

"Sure, dear. Hurry back." Mrs. Higurashi watched as her daughter walked out of the house and towards the well. Noticing the wince she gave when her body moved a certain way. She looked at the door her daughter walked out of with a worried look. Something must have happened. Turning to her guest, she gave a sad smile. "I always knew she was different. I know you're probably surprised at my reaction about magic."

Dumbledore smiled. "Not at all, Mrs. Higurashi. Those who have dealings with any form of magic know of the impossible. Your daughter seems to be quite strong and determined. I'm sure she'll be fine."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled, nodding in thanks. "I'll be right out with some tea."

* * *

Kagome walked out of the house and went to the mini shrine that held the infamous Bone Eater's Well. She felt nervous going back. Would she run into Inuyasha again? She really didn't feel like seeing him. All she wanted was to go and explain what was happening to her friends and come back. Nothing more. _'So why do I feel so nervous? I shouldn't be afraid of him. That'll just show that he won.' _Putting a look of determination on, she climbed down the ladder she had set up. Normally she wouldn't use it, but in her condition, she had no choice. She felt the familiar blue light surround her as she felt herself return to the past. Sighing, she looked up. _'I'll just go to the village, talk to Miroku and Sango, then go home. That's easy enough.'_

It took her a moment to get out, but once she did, she felt a bit more confident. Taking the familiar path that she'd walked on countless times before, she made her way to the village, making sure that she kept her ears open for any sound of movement. The small village came into view within a few minutes, smoke billowing out of huts as the villagers made an early start to the day. It brought a smile to her face knowing that at least there was still some peace. She made her way as quickly as she could to Kaede's hut, greeting some of the villagers as she went. When she reached the small hut, she heard the voices of her friends, idly chatting while making breakfast. This brought a sad smile to her face as she walked in. The occupants looked up.

"Kagome! Oh my God! What happened to you? Where've you been? We've been worried!" Sango pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Sango, please be careful." Kagome winced, trying not to yelp in pain.

"I'm sorry, are you hurt? What happened? Wait, did Inuyasha do this to you?"

Kagome tensed for a moment before nodding slowly.

"That bastard! Next time I see him, he's dead!" Sango seethed. "I knew something was wrong when you didn't come back."

"Now, Sango, don't take out your anger on Inuyasha." Miroku added, grinning. "I wouldn't want to see you do anything you regret."

Kagome laughed. "Please don't kill him Sango. What's done is done. I did come here to talk to you guys though. I need to tell you something."

"What is it you have to tell us Kagome?" Kaede asked, coming into the room and sitting near the fire.

"Sango, go get Shippo. He needs to hear this too."

Sango nodded, and walked into the next room to get the small kit. When she returned, Shippo jumped into Kagome's arms.

"Mama! You're back!" He nuzzled his face in her hair, making her giggle.

"I'm happy to see you too Shippo-chan." Kagome hugged the small kitsune. "I need to tell you guys something important. It's kinda hard to explain…"

"Whatever it is, just tell us. I'm sure it's not as complicated as you think." Miroku said gently.

"Well, I'm leaving for a while. And I don't know exactly when I'll be back." Kagome said softly, looking down at her lap.

* * *

**For those who are new readers, this is probably the 5th time I've edited this thing, and it probably won't be the last. For now, let's assume that chapters will continue as usual, though updates might be slow in coming.**

**As always, your support is greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is up and edited. I've made a few changes - added a few things, changed things, taken things out, the usual. **

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Sango and Miroku looked at Kagome, confused.

"Leaving? Where? When will you be back?"

"I'm going to a school that's not in Japan. I think it will help me when I come back, maybe help me control my miko powers."

"But mama, I don't want you to go!" Shippo cried, tears starting to form in his eyes.

Kagome hugged him. "I know Shippo-chan. I don't want to leave either, but I want to be able to help here, and not be in the way. So I'm going away to become stronger. Will you be a good boy for me?"

Shippo nodded, sniffling. "Hai."

Miroku nodded. "If this is truly what you want, Lady Kagome, we will not stand in your way. I know how badly you want to help us, so do what you feel is right. We'll be here waiting for your return."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks. I think we have a few weeks during Christmas to come home, so I'll try and come back then to visit. Oh! Kaede-sama, I want to show you what those herbs are for before I go. I think they'll help speed the healing of severe injuries."

"I thank ye Kagome. That would be very helpful."

Kagome showed Kaede the many uses of the herbs that she had brought back, making sure to make labels for their uses. The other supplies were for the rest of the group for during their travels, but she also brought a few books for Sango and Shippo and a new calligraphy set for Miroku. "I wish I could stay longer and have dinner with everyone, but I have to go back. Will you walk with me back to the well?"

"Of course, you don't even have to ask." Sango hugged her friend, thanking her for the gifts.

The walk to the well was quiet, no one really wanting to strike up a conversation. It was bad enough that they wouldn't see their friend for the next several months. The air around them was calm, a light breeze flowing through the trees. Summer was quickly drawing to a close, but from what Kagome saw in the village, this year's harvest would be good. There were plenty of crops to keep them safe for the winter, and with the many conveniences Kagome had brought back from the future – blankets, coats, shoes – she knew there would be fewer deaths. She silently prayed that nothing ill would harm her family here as they reached the mouth of the well.

"We're going to miss you Kagome." Sango said, hugging her friend. "It won't be the same without you here."

"I agree with Sango. Come back soon." Miroku agreed, pulling her into a brotherly hug.

Kagome hugged him back. "I will Miroku. I promise. Don't let me being gone stop you from finding the rest of the shards though. I have most of them, but I know there are a few left." Kagome said. "And if you see Inuyasha, Sango, I give you permission to hurt him."

Sango laughed. "You bet I will! No one gets away with hurting my sister."

Kagome grinned at her 'sister'. She was really going to miss her. She kneeled down to her Shippo's level. "Shippo, I want you to be good. Listen to everything Sango and Miroku tell you, okay?" She hugged her adopted son.

"I will mama." Shippo said.

Kagome turned to the well, climbing in and waving goodbye to her friends before jumping down, surrounding herself in the familiar blue light back to the present. When she hit the ground, she slowly climbed out and made her way back to the house. Her mother and Professor Dumbledore were talking when she walked into the room, but looked up at her arrival.

"Kagome dear, Dumbledore-san told me everything. Are you sure you want to do this? I know you made a promise to your friends back in the feudal era, but..." Mrs. Higurashi said.

Kagome nodded. "I'm sure. I told them everything and I promised that I would come back for breaks. I just feel like there was a reason why I landed at the school and I want to be able to find out what that is."

Her mother nodded in understanding. "I guess that's it. I wish there was more I could give you other than my blessing."

"That's all I need." She said, embracing her mother tightly.

"If you're ready to go Miss Higurashi, we can get your school supplies today as well. That way you have a few days to catch up and perhaps get a head start." Dumbledore smiled.

Kagome nodded.

"Very well, let us go."

Kagome hugged her mother once more. "Tell Souta and Jii-chan that I love them and I'll see them soon."

Dumbledore pulled out an old boot. "This should take us to Diagon Alley. Hold on tight."

When she took hold of the boot, she felt a pull at her naval, and her home vanished. When she blinked again, they stood in front of a pub in old London.

"This is Diagon Alley?" Kagome asked, confused.

Dumbledore chuckled. "No. This is the Leakey Cauldron. The entrance to Diagon Alley is inside."

They walked inside, seeing a few regulars at a few tables drinking whatever suited their fancy. Kagome looked around sullenly, hoping not all of Diagon Alley was like this. She watched as Dumbledore went and talked to the old man behind the bar. Not really caring much for what was going on, she continued to observe the bars inhabitants, finding it slightly entertaining to try and discern their personalities from their auras. It was something she used to do back in the feudal era and she found it comforting.

"Kagome, let us go. We have much to do." Dumbledore said.

Kagome nodded, not feeling up for much conversation. They walked out the door leading to the alley behind the small pub, facing a large brick wall. She heard the rest of London going about their daily routines, but it sounded almost muffled, like it was farther away than it really was. Dumbledore pulled out his wand, tapping a few of the bricks, and stood back as the wall seemed to fold away, revealing a city within a city. Eyes wide with wonder, Kagome followed the professor through the street crowded with people to get the supplies she would need for the year. The town seemed quite lively, but she felt a deep wariness as well. The people here were afraid of something.

Their first stop was Ollivander's. Best wands ever made, Dumbledore had said. The front of the shop looked quite old, and a bit dingy, but other than that, looked very welcoming.

"Kagome, why don't you go on ahead and get your wand. I will go and pick up your school books. Meet me over there by the pet shop in an hour." Dumbledore said. "Oh yes, this should be enough to purchase your wand." He handed her a few coins and walked off.

Kagome stared blankly after him. _'Okay, now what…' _She sighed heavily before walking in, hearing the bell ring as the door closed. "Hello?" she called.

Before she could call again, an old man with bright blue eyes came out from behind some shelves. "Hello there. Here for a wand?"

"Y-yes. I'm a new student." Kagome said nervously.

"Starting a bit late, are we? No matter. I'm sure we have a wand for you around here somewhere. Now, which arm is your wand arm?" The man known as Mr. Ollivander said.

"Wand arm?" Kagome looked at him quizzically.

"The arm you're most comfortable with."

"Um, my left."

Mr. Ollivander waved his hand and a tape measure started measuring her arm at every angle. "Okay. Here. Try this one. Eleven inches, mahogany wood, with a unicorn hair."

Kagome took the wand and gave it a wave. The vase next to her exploded, making her jump from surprise. She quickly put the wand down, becoming frightened.

"Don't worry. The wand chooses the wizard. Try this one. Twelve inches, oak and phoenix feather."

Again, the same thing happened. Mr. Ollivander tried many different combinations. None of them seemed to fit. Finally, after nearly a hundred wands, he went to the very back of his store. He looked curiously at a worn out box in the corner, muttering to himself. Something about demons was all Kagome heard. He returned shortly, holding a very worn box. Taking out the wand, he handed it to her.

A warm feeling suddenly came over her. She heard voices from her past. Her mother, father, her friends, her son. Inuyasha. The last voice she heard though, was threatening and painful, making her drop the wand.

"I had a feeling that wand was the right one. It's quite powerful. Only two others exist that can almost match it." Mr. Ollivander said quietly. "I've never made another like it. Treat it kindly."

"Thank you sir. What's this one made of, may I ask?" Kagome said, gingerly picking up the wand.

"Eleven and a half inches, cheery wood, and a strand of fox demon hair."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Fox demon?"

"Aye. Very hard to come by. I was surprised when the demon himself came and gave it to me. Said he wasn't going to live much longer and hoped it would go to the one who cared for his son. Very kind demon he was." Mr. Ollivander seemed deep in thought after that. Not even bothering to take the money offered for the wand, and he walked away.

Kagome looked down at her new wand sadly. She knew exactly who had donated the demon hair - Shippo's father. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she shook them way violently. _'Not here. I can't cry here. Not now.' _She wiped her eyes furiously, and walked over to the pet shop. It had taken her just over an hour to find a wand, so she hoped Dumbledore would come to take her back to the school soon. She wanted to be alone for a while. She didn't have to wait long. Within ten minutes Dumbledore had returned with the rest of her school supplies, along with a few extras. There were a few extra books, mostly on time travel and demon mythology. And then there was a large cage which housed a beautiful gray owl.

"Wow. Is she for me?" Kagome asked, kneeling down to the bird's eyes.

"Yes. I thought you might like to have a way to keep in touch with your family, since wizards don't use normal technology."

"She's beautiful."

Dumbledore nodded. "Would you like to go back now? I sense something is troubling you."

She nodded. "I just want to be alone for a while I think."

He nodded in understanding. "I've seen to it that you are placed in the Gryffindor house. I feel that you would get along best there. When we return, I'll have Mr. Potter, who you met this morning, show you to your dormitory."

He pulled out the same old boot and had her grab hold of it, and once again, she found herself in the great hall of the castle. The only difference was there were very few people around. He walked her over to one of the tables in the middle, where she noticed the boy who had brought her something to eat was sitting.

"Ah, Harry. Would you be so kind as to show Miss Higurashi to the Gryffindor tower? She would like to get some rest."

"Sure." Harry said, looking at the girl next to him. She kept her gaze downward, not wanting anyone to see the depression and pain in her face. "Hello again."

"Hi." She said quietly.

They both walked off, neither saying anything. Dumbledore watched them go, knowing that he made the right decision by putting them together.

Harry and Kagome continued to walk in silence, both unsure how to start a conversation. When they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, Harry quickly gave the password, "Draconus." He led Kagome through the open portrait, exposing a very comfortable sitting area. There were red lounge chairs in front of a warmly lit fireplace, tables and chairs scattered throughout the room, and a staircase, which Kagome assumed led to the dormitories.

"The dormitories are up the staircase." Harry said as she looked around the room. "Girls are on the right side."

Kagome smiled softly, thanking him quietly before walking over to the couches to sit down. Her body was still recovering, and her wounds stung slightly. Madame Pomfrey had used a self cleaning bandage on her wounds, hoping it would make the healing time go by faster. While Kagome could use her miko abilities to help heal them, it used too much energy, and she already felt so drained after trying to heal herself earlier. Easing herself onto the couch, she leaned her back against the back of the couch, wincing slightly as her shoulder made contact with the cushion. She saw Harry take one of the chairs closer to the fire, but she was already tuning the rest of the world out, grabbing one of her sketchbooks instead. It was one of the few things from home besides her clothes that she brought with her.

Harry noticed she was tuning him out. Shrugging his shoulders he sat and just watched her draw. She had turned to a page that had a slight sketch already on it. Pulling out her pencil, she began to sketch out the details of a face. It looked to be a young boy. Though, there was something different about his features. He didn't look quite human. He noticed that while she drew the boy, she seemed to smile sadly. "His name is Shippo if you were wondering." She said softly.

"Huh?"

"I saw you watching me." Kagome said quietly. "The boy I'm drawing, his name is Shippo."

"Can I ask…" Harry began, then stopped, not knowing how to continue.

Kagome looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, and a past pain. _'Just like me…' _she thought. She nodded. "He's a fox demon kit, and my son."

Harry looked confused. Kagome smiled, giggling slightly. _'He's so cute when he's confused…wait…did I just…' _She stopped that thought. "I adopted him. His parents were murdered by two youkai brothers, Hiten and Manten. He's only one of the many I've helped throughout my travels."

"Where all did you travel?" Harry asked, interested.

Kagome shook her head. "Maybe another time. It's not something I like to talk about with so many ears listening." She looked at him. "How about tomorrow night?"

Harry smiled. "Sure. How about after dinner when no one else is around?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. They ended their small conversation there, as Ron and Hermione had come into the room. She quickly put away her sketch book, not feeling comfortable with people looking at her work. "I'm going to bed." She said suddenly. "I'm not feeling well." With that, she walked upstairs to the girls dormitory.

Hermione watched her walk away. "She's not very talkative is she?" she commented.

"Apparently not." Ron said, shaking his head. "I wonder what's wrong with her. It's like she's completely antisocial."

"She's not like that." Harry said suddenly. Both of his friends looked at him confused.

"I find that hard to believe, mate. She kinda just walked away like she's afraid of people." Ron said.

"She's just going through a hard time. I know that look in her eyes very well." Harry looked at the burning fire. "We're the same." he said quietly.

"You mean, someone she loved died?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "More like someone tried to kill her."

* * *

Kagome walked into the girls dormitory. The beds all had names on them along with each person's belongings at their foot. Hers was at the end, next to another bed with the name "Hermione" carved into it. Pulling on her pajamas, she climbed into bed, and pulled the curtains around her. She pulled out the picture she had been working on, picking up an actual photograph that was her reference. It showed herself holding Shippo in front of Kaede's hut. She remembered teaching Sango how to take a picture on her camera. The picture was completely candid; she had accidentally pressed the button too soon, just as Kagome was hugging Shippo with a loving smile on her face. Touching the picture fondly, she placed it under her pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

Sunlight shone in through the slight crack in Kagome's curtains early the next morning. Opening her eyes at the sudden light, she groaned. _'It's too early...Why was I cursed to be the early riser in my family?'_ She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, wincing slightly from her still healing wounds, feeling her back and shoulders pop, releasing all the tension and stiffness from sleep. "Might as well get up. I can't get back to sleep now even if I tried." she muttered to herself. She quietly opened the curtains surrounding her bed and rummaged through her trunk trying to find something suitable to wear. Since there was still two days before classes started she didn't have to wear the uniform yet. Picking out a baby blue sweater, as it was a lot colder here than at home, and a pair of jeans she bought a while back in Tokyo, she quickly changed and headed downstairs.

_'I figured as much. I'm the only one up.'_ She frowned slightly. _'I think I'll start reading a bit in my school books. Maybe I'll be able to catch up a little bit.'_

Quickly going back up to her dormitory, she grabbed the top book among the stack and went back downstairs, sitting on the couch by the fire. She was half way through the book before someone else woke up. Looking up at the sudden noise on the stairs, she noticed the red head and the frizzy haired girl from last night coming down.

"Honestly Ronald, you really should have finished your homework over the summer. I'm not going to help you with it." The girl said.

"But Hermione, if I don't get this done by the time classes start Snape will have a bloody fit." The boy known as Ronald stated.

"That's your own fault." Hermione said before she finally noticed Kagome on the couch. "Hello. You're up awfully early."

Kagome smiled. "I've always been an early riser." She folded over the corner of the page she was on and closed the book. "I'm sorry I didn't stay to say hello last night. I wasn't feeling very well."

"That's okay." Hermione sat down on the couch with her while Ron took one of the chairs. "By the way, how are you feeling?"

"I'm healing. Slowly, but after being shot in the back and having your side almost ripped off, that's to be expected." Kagome frowned slightly, shaking her head. "I don't really want to talk about it right now. When does breakfast start? I'm starving."

Ron grinned. "I was thinking the same thing." Hermione just shook her head.

"Boys." she muttered. "Breakfast is in about an hour." She said. "Anyway, I'm sorry, I don't think we introduced ourselves. I'm Hermione, and this is Ron." she held out her hand, which Kagome shook, smiling.

"I'm Kagome."

"So where are you from?" Hermione asked.

"Tokyo, Japan. I live on a shrine actually. My family's been running it for generations." Kagome smiled. "Jii-chan is always telling me stories from when it was first built." She giggled.

"A shrine? Wow. That must have been an interesting childhood." Ron commented. "Is there really such things as demons?" he asked.

She nodded. "It was. I lived in Kyoto until I was about six. So when we first moved in with Jii-chan, my brother Souta and I were always afraid to go far from the house. Then mama would scold us saying there's nothing to be afraid of and to go and play like normal children." She laughed.

Both Ron and Hermione laughed. "But seriously, are there demons?" Ron asked.

Kagome smiled, almost sadly, as if in a distant memory. "Yes. Not all are bad though."

Ron shuddered. "All demons are bad as far as I can tell. Binns kept going on and on about all the trouble they used to cause."

"I'm surprised you remembered that Ron." Hermione said. "Normally you just ignore the class and fall asleep. Both you and Harry." She shook her head.

"Believe what you will, but I still say not all demons are bad." Kagome said just as she saw Harry coming down the stairs.

"Hey guys." He said. "You're up early."

"Finally! Let's go to breakfast!" Ron exclaimed, and headed toward the portrait entrance. "Well, come on"

"We're coming."

The four of them left the common room and started heading toward the Great Hall. While the three friends conversed, Kagome's eyes wandered around, looking at all the portraits (_'Are those pictures moving?'_) and all the different hallways they passed, wondering what was down each one. When they had reached the open doors to the Great Hall, she barely noticed and just continued to follow the trio. Only when they sat down at their house table did she finally snap out of her daydreaming at the sight of food. Grinning, she grabbed a little bit of everything.

The three friends watched her with surprise. Who knew one girl could eat so much. "Wow, you must be hungry Kagome." Hermione said, giggling slightly as Kagome blushed.

"Well, I haven't eaten in…probably a few days. Besides the toast that Harry brought me when I first woke up here." She said.

"So that's where he ran off to." Ron mused to himself. "Hey are we gonna go visit Hagrid today?"

Harry thought about it for second. "We could. Then we could introduce him to Kagome."

Hermione grinned. "That's a good idea! Kagome you should come with us."

"Well…I was gonna try and catch up in the classes…why don't you guys go on without me." She said.

"Nonsense!" Hermione said quickly. "I'll help you catch up tonight. I've even still got my notes from the previous years if you'd like to look through them."

"That'd be such a big help. Thank you." Kagome smiled. "I guess I'll go with you then."

"It'll be nice to not be the only girl anymore."

Kagome nodded. "I think I'm going to go back up to the common room and rest for a while. I'm still not feeling a hundred percent. Come get me when you want to head out okay?"

"Sure thing."

Before she could get very far from the table, someone walked in front of her, making her stop and look up. She almost laughed. It was a boy around her age, with platinum blond hair that had what she thought was way too much gel. When she looked closer and felt his aura she wanted to back away. It felt so dark and tainted.

"So you're that girl that fell from the ceiling." He said with a sneer. "Who would want to hurt a pretty girl like yourself? What's your name beautiful? I'm Malfoy by the way. Draco Malfoy." He held out his hand. "Why don't you come hang out with me and my friends, instead of this group of losers?"

She looked at him with disgust evident on her face, which he seemed not to notice. Her new group of friends were watching the scene with interest, hoping that something would happen. _'Might as well make this as humiliating as possible. I just hope I have the energy to do it.'_ She thought before giving him her reply. "Yes, I am. And the name's Kagome, not 'beautiful'." She said, not taking his hand. "I don't associate with people who think they're better than others. Oh, and I'd prefer if you don't disrespect my friends in front of me. You just might regret it." She said with a smirk and started to walk past him.

He grabbed her arm. "Why you…no one talks back to me." He was about to slap her when a bright blue light hit him and made him fly and half way down the Great Hall, falling on his back. Kagome stood, wobbling for a second and panting, glaring at him.

"Nobody and I mean nobody, hits me, or touches me, in that way. Ever." Kagome said angrily. Feeling a bit lightheaded, she sat back down at the table not far from where her friends were still sitting, laughing hysterically while Malfoy limped out of the Great Hall fuming. They made their way over to her, Ron patting her shoulder in approval.

"Man, you showed him! That was awesome! Where'd you learn to do that kind of magic?"

"I think you may have gone a bit far, but I must admit, it was funny." Hermione said, giggling lightly.

Kagome could only nod. Her head was spinning slightly from the use of her miko energy. "I…shouldn't have done…that." She finally managed to get out.

Harry looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, waving her hand in a dismissing manner. "I'll…be okay. I just used a bit too much energy…too soon." _'I'll probably get sick later.'_ She thought.

"How did you do that anyway?" Ron asked. "You didn't use a wand."

Kagome looked at him and sighed. "I guess there's no use hiding it now. I'm a miko, or priestess. I can use and manipulate spiritual energy, both from my body and around me. I just have to be careful when I'm sick or hurt. Like now, I used too much force, and now I'll be tired for a while. I've done worse though. I've used so much energy before that I slipped into a four day coma. Should've seen the look on Inuyasha's face when I woke up. He was furious."

They looked at her, still slightly confused, while Hermione asked, "Who's Inuyasha?" They saw her stiffen slightly and decided to change the subject. "How about we go down to Hagrid's."

Kagome relaxed. "Sounds like fun." She said, and they headed out of the Castle to a small hut on the grounds. _'At least I can hold off telling them for a while longer. I just wonder how long.'_

* * *

Harry knocked on the door to the small hut, hearing Fang's barking from inside before Hagrid opened the door.

"'Ello. Haven' seen you three in a while. An' I see you brought a new friend. Come on in. I jus' made a pot o' tea." He said in a loud voice.

Kagome smiled as they walked in and made themselves comfortable.

"How was yer summer?" Hagrid asked, pouring them all tea.

"Great" They all replied, except for Kagome. She suddenly turned sad at the mention of summer, remembering her friends back in the feudal era. "It was okay." She mumbled. "Harry, how're them Dursley's treaten' ya? Not still in that closet are ya?" Hagrid asked, turning to Harry.

"Same as ever I suppose." Harry shrugged. "I haven't been in the closet for quite a while Hagrid. I think they're afraid of me."

Kagome giggled slightly. The thought of someone being afraid of Harry just seemed absurd.

"Oh, we haven' been introduced yet." Hagrid turned to Kagome. "The name's Rubeus Hagrid, you can jus' call me Hagrid. What's yer name? I don' think I've seen you 'round here before."

She smiled. "I'm Kagome. I'm new."

"A bit late though, aren't ya?" Hagrid asked.

"I had…something I needed to do back home." She said quietly before changing the subject. "Hermione tells me you teach Care of Magical Creatures. What kind of creatures?"

"All sorts. The bigger the better I say." He laughed.

Kagome grinned. She liked him. He had that kind air about him where you couldn't help but smile.

The group spent most of the afternoon in the small hut before it was time to head back to the castle for dinner. Tonight they were supposed to find out who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was. From what Kagome had heard from her new friends, they had a new teacher every year. Sounded ridiculous to her. She was looking forward to simply going to bed. She knew she promised Harry that she would tell him about her past, but she was starting to doubt her decision. New memories had resurfaced that day and she didn't know if she could face them just yet. As they made their way to their house table, she started feeling a bit dizzy. Shrugging it off, she sat down with her friends and waited for the food to arrive.

When Dumbledore stood up to begin dinner, a light _'hem hem'_ was heard from the staff table, where a short, toad-like woman sat with an eerie smile on her face. "Ah yes, before we begin dinner tonight, I would like to introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Umbridge."

A small applause was her welcome, not many of the students liking the way she looked at them. Luckily, just before she could get up and say anything, Dumbledore clapped his hands together and food instantly appeared on the table, begging to be eaten.

Kagome felt her stomach lurch at the sight of the food. Sure she was hungry, but her lack of energy was making her feel sick and tired. She decided, though, to not be rude and at least try and eat something. Helping herself to some mashed potatoes and a small piece of chicken, she began picking at her food in an uninterested manner. She took small bites of the mashed potatoes, finding them the easiest to keep down at the moment, but after only about four or five bites, she put her fork down and held her arms around her stomach. _'I think I'm gonna be sick…'_ she thought. Getting up quickly and ignoring the worried glances from her friends, she walked quickly out of the Great Hall to find the nearest restroom to empty her stomach's contents. Hermione was just about to go after her when Harry stood up first.

"I'll go. I'm finished anyway." He said.

Hermione nodded and watched Harry follow after Kagome. Looking up at the teacher's table quickly, she noticed the new teacher glaring after the two students that just left, while Dumbledore and McGonagall both held slightly worried looks.

Kagome walked as quickly as she could in the direction Hermione had said the nearest girls' restroom was. Finding it around the next corner, she ran in and headed for the nearest toilet, throwing up all the food in her system. She heard the door to her stall open and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder as she felt another heave coming. It sent painful shudders up her back as she continued, but nothing else came up. She started crying lightly as her body continued to try and empty itself of what was already gone. She coughed, trying to force whatever was still in her throat out of her body. Shuddering, she let out a few more dry heaves before hearing a voice trying to calm her down.

"Shh, it's okay." Kagome recognized Harry's voice as he rubbed her back in soothing motions. "You need to calm down. Just relax." He said in a soft and calming voice.

She let out a soft hiccup as her body started to relax. Breathing heavily and trembling, she turned toward her friend, who in turn brought her into a warm embrace. "Take deep breaths. That's it." Kagome did as she was told, and took slow deep breaths, her body slowly calming down and her breathing evening out. When she had finally relaxed enough, Harry helped her up to her feet, holding her steady. "Come on; let's get you up to the common room." All Kagome could do was nod and follow him out of the bathroom.

Harry led her through a shortcut to get to the portrait hole, knowing that dinner had just recently finished. He wondered though, why did she suddenly get sick? Surely it couldn't have been from earlier when she had blasted that energy at Malfoy. Or maybe it was…he didn't know. He glanced over at her as they walked toward the portrait. She looked a bit pale, and tired.

The Fat Lady interrupted him from his thoughts. "Well? Are you gonna go in or not?"

"Draconus." Harry said, and the portrait swung open allowing them to walk in. Ignoring the looks from their fellow classmates, they sat down down on the couch next to Ron and Hermione.

"Are you okay Kagome?" Hermione asked as the boys began a game of wizard's chess. "You looked so pale at dinner, and then you left so suddenly."

"I'm fine. I got a bit sick is all. It's lucky I remembered where you showed me where the restroom was. But I do feel better now."

Hermione smiled. "That's good. Would you like me to help you get caught up a bit tonight?"

"Sure, that'd be great." Kagome said.

The two girls grabbed their school books and some parchment and started studying. They first went over all the notes for Charms, followed by Transfiguration. Surprisingly enough, they finished all four years worth of notes in just under three hours. Potions they decided to skip for now, since Kagome had said that she knew quite a bit about the subject already. "I am a priestess, after all", she had said. Along with potions, they decided to hold off on until Kagome could figure out what she needed to learn, and what she already knew, which worked out quite well since everyone was beginning to head off to bed. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment, she wrote a quick note on it while telling Hermione she would be right up after her. Picking up her books, she walked over to Harry and Ron who were heading up the stairs as well and quickly slid Harry the note.

"Goodnight." She said quietly, and walked away.

* * *

"You've gotten good at chess Harry. You actually managed to beat me this time." Ron laughed as they got their pajamas on for bed.

Harry laughed. "Yea I guess so. I haven't had anyone to play with besides you though, seeing as how I live with muggles. I'd call it luck I guess.

"Still, good game."

"Night Ron." Harry said as he closed the curtains around his bed before opening the note Kagome handed him. _'If you still want to know about my travels, come down to the common room when everyone's asleep. –Kagome'._ He looked at the note again. He didn't see the harm in meeting her. He figured there wouldn't be much to tell, so he waited until everyone was fast asleep, like she had requested, before heading downstairs.

* * *

**Chapter 2, done. Again, more changes, but more or less the same. There wasn't much to change in this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's Chapter 3. Edits are mostly done with this one, but I'm still not quite sure it works. It's good for now though I think.**

**There are some major edits to this chapter, but again, they are subject to change. **

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Once everyone was asleep, Kagome slowly made her way downstairs to the common room. The floors creaked only slightly, but she paused over each one just in case. She didn't want to risk being heard. When she finally made it to the last step, she noticed Harry was already waiting for her. Smiling slightly, she made her way to the couch in front of the fire and sat down.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long." She said.

Harry shook his head. "No, not really. I only just came down about five minutes ago."

Kagome smiled for a moment before suddenly turning serious. "Harry, what I'm about to tell you no one but my family knows, and even they don't know everything that went on. Some of the things I've experienced and witnessed were extremely dangerous…and I was afraid to tell them, fearing they would try and keep me away." She looked straight at him. "Please don't tell anyone about what I'm about to tell you. Not even Ron and Hermione. I will tell them when I feel the time is right."

Harry looked at her questioningly. "Then why tell me?"

"Because I feel that I can trust you. I don't know why, but there's something about you that makes me feel like we're very similar. Almost like we've witnessed some of the same things, things that you feel no one else would understand. I may have only known you for a day, but it feels like I've known you for years."

He looked down at his lap. "Yea…I guess that might be true."

"So do you still want to know?" she asked, and he nodded. Sighing, she looked into the fire before saying anything, trying to collect her thoughts.

"This is hard for me to tell…" she began, "It started a little more than a year ago, on my birthday actually. Our cat had gotten lost in the well house that sits on our property and my brother Souta was too scared to go in by himself." she laughed. "It was rather amusing actually. He came and got me as I was heading off to school, and I went with him to get the cat. Well, you can guess that something didn't go quite the way it was supposed to. As I was walking by the well, which was sealed with old sutras, a large centipede woman came out of the well and grabbed me. Souta and the cat ran off, but I was dragged into the well. She kept saying something about having the Jewel of Four Souls. I tried to get away, but she just gripped me tighter, so I pushed her way from me using my hands, when they suddenly started glowing. There was a blast of light, and when I opened my eyes I was at the bottom of the well, and the centipede's arms were lying around me."

Harry shuddered. "You mean the same kind of attack you used on Malfoy, right?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes, but at that time I had no idea what I was doing. I'd never done anything like it before, so I was a bit freaked out. Anyway, I climbed out of the well, but something was off. I was no longer at the shrine where we lived. Instead of concrete and temples around, along with my house, I was surrounded by green. I was in a forest, and not just any forest. Sure, I was still technically on my family's shrine, but I was five hundred years in the past, the Warring States Era. Of course I didn't know this; I thought it was just some dream."

"Wait," Harry interrupted, "You were transported five hundred years to the past?"

"I was, but I didn't find this out until later. I wandered off into the forest, thinking if this was a dream, I should be waking up any minute. I hadn't gotten very far when I came to the largest tree in the forest. It's still standing today at my family's shrine, actually. We call it the Goshinboku. This is how I figured I was at least still in Japan, but what really got me was that there was a boy pinned to the tree by an arrow. It looked like he'd been there for quite a while, since there were vines growing on him, but he looked so peaceful, almost like he was asleep. And he had the most beautiful silver hair. He also had cute little dog ears on his head." She giggled. "I couldn't resist, I started playing with them, that is, until some of the villagers came and tried to shoot me. They tied me up and brought me to the village priestess, Kaede. I think they thought I was some kind of demon or something, but I guess it was mostly for how I was dressed. Girls' school uniforms aren't exactly the most conservative…"

"But if they thought you were a demon, why didn't they just kill you?"

Kagome sighed. "Apparently, I looked like the previous priestess, Kikyo, Kaede's sister. I'll explain later. Anyway, Kaede took one look at me and thought I was Kikyo, but that obviously couldn't be. She explained to me that her sister had died fifty years earlier, and yet I was her spitting image. I asked her about the boy who was pinned to the tree. She called him Inuyasha, a half dog demon, or hanyou. He had been in love with Kikyo, and supposedly betrayed her, so she shot him with an arrow, and he'd been there for fifty years. Then she asked if I believed in reincarnation. I never got a chance to answer her though, because the centipede woman had returned, and she was destroying the village. Knowing that it was me she wanted, I ran off toward the light I saw in the forest. When I reached the Goshinboku, Inuyasha wasn't exactly sleeping anymore. He was wide awake, and boy did he look angry."

"So that's why you said that demons do exist. You've actually encountered them before." Harry said suddenly. "I thought you were just trying to scare Ron."

She laughed lightly. "No, they really do exist. They just avoid contact with humans."

"I see. So what happened next?"

"When I saw Inuyasha awake I couldn't help but stare at him. He had bright amber eyes that you could just get lost in, but they looked furious. He called me quite a few names I will not repeat, called me weak, and then, what really got me was when he called me Kikyo. Boy was I mad. I grabbed his hair and yelled at him and told him my name was Kagome, not Kikyo. By now the centipede had caught up to us and had grabbed me, tearing a hole in my side with her teeth." Kagome lifted up her shirt up to the top of her hip bone, revealing a large scar on her side.

Harry winced. "That had to hurt."

"It did. A lot. But out of my side came a pink jewel. The Shikon no Tama, or Jewel of Four Souls. This is what the centipede demon had wanted from me, and when she was done with me, she ate the jewel. Inuyasha wanted the jewel for himself, so he was quite upset by now. For a moment nothing happened, but within seconds she had turned into a more grotesque form, and had slammed me into Inuyasha, holding us to the tree with her body and trying to kill us. The villagers had gotten there just as she had torn open my side and were trying to kill the demon, but she was too strong for them. They all lived, but they didn't get away without at least a few scrapes. Inuyasha told me to remove the arrow from his chest, telling me he would easily be able to destroy the demon. I, being the naïve girl I was then, grabbed the arrow and it vanished, freeing Inuyasha. I don't really remember what happened after that, it happened so fast. But within a few minutes the centipede demon was dead, and I grabbed the jewel before she could regenerate. Inuyasha then turned on me though; he wanted the jewel."

"Why would he need the jewel?" Harry asked, confused. "If he was already strong enough to kill that demon, why would he need it?"

"Inuyasha's a hanyou, a half-demon, half-breed, what everyone else considered to be scum. The names people used to call him were horrible, just because of his heritage. The shikon jewel has the power to turn a half-demon into a full-demon. But, you will most likely lose your soul along with it. That's why he attacked me. He wanted to become a full-demon, and finally have respect. Kaede made a rosary and put a strong incantation on it, placing it around Inuyasha's neck, and told me to say one word that would subdue him. Of course, this is kinda hard when you've got a demon trying to kill you, but I called out the first thing that came to my head." Kagome grinned. "What do you tell a dog when you want him to sit?"

"Uh…'sit '"?

Kagome laughed. "Exactly. I panicked, so I shouted the first thing that came to my head, and he fell face first into the dirt."

Harry laughed. "I guess that's one way to handle a demon."

Kagome nodded. "Yea. He didn't attack me after that, but we didn't become friends either. He still hated me. I think it was because I looked like Kikyo."

"Didn't he love her though?"

"He did…he does…fifty years previously they had been in love. She offered him the jewel to make him human and they would live out their lives as man and wife. But Naraku, I'll explain him later, made them think they had betrayed one another. He posed as Inuyasha, and fatally wounded Kikyo. Then he went and posed as Kikyo and shot at Inuyasha. He then stole the jewel from the village, and Kikyo shot him and pinned him to the tree. She died shortly after, and the jewel was burned with her remains. I guess when I came along, some unwanted memories returned. Still, he saved my life." Kagome looked into the fire. "We eventually became friends, or at least, as friendly as he could be. Like I said earlier, during that time hanyou's were considered the scum of the earth. So it took quite a while for him to even slightly open up to me."

Harry looked down at his hands. "It's similar here with wizards. Those that are squibs, wizards that can't really do magic well, are usually looked down on. And of course the muggles that know of us are either afraid of us or hate us."

Kagome nodded. "People that are different are disliked. That's simply how it works. I don't like it, but society won't change so easily."

"I guess so."

"Anyway, there's quite a bit that happened after I first met Inuyasha, but I think I'll summarize most of it. The first thing that happened was the jewel shattered. During a fight with a crow demon I accidentally broke the jewel, and the shards went all over Japan. To this day we still have no idea how many shards there actually are, but we have most of them. But that moment is really how my adventure started. When the jewel broke, it really was my job to put it back together." Kagome pulled out what looked like half of a pink jewel from under her shirt. "This is the Shikon jewel. Well, a little more than half of it. This is what has caused so much death, this tiny jewel. It's still so hard to think that something this small could actually the cause of so many problems."

"It seems so harmless." Harry said, looking at the jewel carefully. "Almost like a regular piece of jewelry."

"Sadly, thousands have died because of this jewel. And all of my friends in that era have seen so much pain and suffering because of it."

Harry looked at her quizzically. "How many people were you travelling with?"

"We first met Shippo, a fox demon kit, whose parents had been murdered by two demon brothers that wanted the jewel. Inuyasha killed the Thunder Brothers, as they were called, and I adopted Shippo as my own son. We met Miroku shortly after that. He's a monk that we sorta met by accident. He stole my bike." Kagome started laughing at the memory. "He's also quite lecherous, always asking any beautiful girl to bear his children. But, he's also cursed by a wind tunnel that's been passed down through the males in his family. It's a black hole in his hand that as it grows bigger will eventually suck him in. It comes in quite handy during a battle, but unless we kill Naraku, who started the curse, his fate will be the same as his grandfather and his father. Finally we met Sango, a demon slayer. Her village was attacked by demons while she, her family, and the best of the demon slayers from her village were called away to a supposed castle that was home to a powerful demon. No one in the village survived, and the group that was at the castle had been pulled into a trap by Naraku. Her younger brother, Kohaku, was suddenly possessed and murdered everyone, including their own father. Sango was presumed dead and buried along with the rest, but she lived. When she was told by Naraku that Inuyasha had caused her family's death, she came after us. It took quite a bit of fighting and talking before she finally saw we were telling the truth."

"Why wouldn't she believe you?"

"Naraku can be very persuasive, if you know what I mean." Kagome said sadly.

Harry frowned. "Sounds exactly like Voldemort." Kagome looked at him confused. "He's an evil wizard; he killed my parents, and many others."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Anyway, so I guess after we all started traveling together things just fell into place. They became my second family, and it may have been inevitable, but I fell in love with Inuyasha. I don't know when or how, but I did. Everyone seemed to know, but him." Kagome laughed bitterly. "He was so dense. But he also still loved Kikyo. She had been, in a way, brought back from the dead. This was before we met Sango or Miroku. I am actually still missing a small piece of my soul, which is currently residing in the clay form of Kikyo."

"You…you lost your soul? How is that possible? I thought only Dementors had that power…" Harry looked at her slightly shocked. "It's also supposed to be the most painful thing to endure…"

"I don't really know…I was sort of in a trance I guess, and I don't remember anything from the time I went into said trance to the time I woke up. From what Kaede has told me, being in close proximity to my soul, and having a strong will to live, called it back to me. I don't know. It's all very confusing and complicated."

Kagome looked at Harry. "What exactly are Dementors?"

Harry shuddered. "I don't really know what I would call them. They feed off your happiness, leaving you with only your worst memories, and eventually leave you broken and insane before sucking away your soul." Kagome's eyes widened in horror. "During my third year, my godfather, Sirius Black, had escaped from the Azkaban, the wizard prison. He was an innocent man convicted of murdering thirteen people. But because he was the first to ever escape, they had some of the Dementors placed around Hogwarts. I think everyone reacts differently to them, depending on their past. I was the only one to pass out, hearing my mother screaming as she died. That is the power of a Dementor."

Kagome shuddered, wide-eyed, as if trapped in a lost and forgotten memory. "I may have seen one…" she muttered, "Back when I was still a child…it was so cold…" She closed her eyes, wanting to forget. "They're big black creatures covered in black cloaks, right?"

Harry nodded slowly.

_'Somehow I knew my father's death wasn't an accident.' _Kagome thought. _'I won't trouble him with that memory though. It's all in the past now.'_ "I guess I'll continue on with my story, though there really isn't much else to tell." She laughed.

Harry smiled and chuckled slightly. _'She sure does know how to lighten the mood, even during a dark subject. But…we really are similar…both of us are surrounded by death and expectations…'_

"I guess the next three parts shall be the last, since they are really the last parts with any importance. There are two people I have yet to introduce; Koga, and Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's half brother, but he's a full demon and they absolutely hate one another, and he hates humans as well."

"Does that go back to the whole 'half demon' issue?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Now, I don't really know a whole lot about him, so I'll just tell you what I know." She said. "In the beginning, we met him when he was trying to find their father's grave. That is also when Inuyasha finally inherited the sword that his father left him. The Tetsaiga. It transforms into a large fang-like sword when used to protect humans. During their fight, Inuyasha told me to stay back and let him protect me. When he said that, it was almost like the sword had a mind of its own, and it transformed into a large fang as he cut his brother's arm off." Kagome looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, placing a finger on her chin. "I think he's changed somewhat since then. He seems gentler and I've even seen him smile once or twice."

"How does someone that coldhearted change? If he hates his own flesh and blood?" Harry asked.

"He saved a human girl." she said simply.

"I thought you said he hated humans though."

"He did. But I think Rin, the small child he saved, has softened him a little. He's very protective of her." Kagome giggled. "It's rather cute actually; like a father watching over his daughter."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really know much about a parents love. I grew up with my aunt and uncle, who hate me. The closest thing I have to a family really is Ron's family and my godfather." He said quietly.

Kagome leaned over slightly and pulled Harry into an embrace. He stiffened slightly, not knowing how to react, but he slowly relaxed as she started to speak. "It must've been hard, not knowing why you were hated as a child, and not growing up with someone who cared for you." She let go, but leaned her head on his shoulder. "I may not know what it's like to grow up without my family, but I do know what it's like to lose a parent. My father died when I was young, but that's a memory I won't go into."

Harry nodded, blushing slightly when he realized she wasn't moving away from him any time soon.

"Oh! Koga!" she laughed softly. "He's certainly an interesting person. He's a wolf demon who, unfortunately, thinks I'm his woman and is constantly asking me to marry him."

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh. "What made him start doing that? I'm sure that was awkward."

"Oh it was, believe me." Kagome laughed. "I had barely known him for five minutes before he suddenly claimed me as his and he kidnapped me. I helped him and his pack defeat a group of Harpies, and Inuyasha came and rescued me. He comes and finds us somehow at least once a month, maybe once every two or three months sometimes, and tries to get me to go with him. I refuse every time, and of course, a fight breaks out."

Harry smiled. "Sounds like fun."

Kagome nodded. "It was actually. Every time Inuyasha and Koga would fight over me though, I thought that just maybe he loved me too."

Harry looked down at the smiling girl leaning on his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "This is the final part of my tale, and the somewhat of the reason I am here. Somewhere down the road, I fell in love with Inuyasha. It seems silly of me to actually fall in love with someone who calls you names, and is constantly arguing with you, but I did. He had his moments, where, when it was just the two of us, he would be so kind and gentle to me. Whereas Miroku is like a brother to me and is there when I'm upset, Inuyasha was always the one that made my heart flutter when I saw him. Every time I saw him with Kikyo it broke my heart, but I thought that maybe with time he would see that I loved him for who he was, and not want him to change, like she did. When he got severely injured he would sometimes turn into a full demon, but I was always the one to bring him back and comfort him when he realized he had killed someone innocent. The most recent time, though still quite some time ago, I didn't know what to do. His human form had been separated and trapped in a mirror. So while he was losing his mind to his demon half, I did the only thing I thought would bring him back. I kissed him." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Did he come back?" Harry asked quietly.

She nodded. "He did. He even kissed me back. I truly thought after that that maybe there was a chance after all, that we could be together. He began to act different around me; much more gentle and caring. He let me go home when I had a test in school, and he would come back to get me a few days later, or he would be waiting for me at the well when I came back. I guess I didn't notice when he started to see Kikyo again. I really was naïve." Her voice broke slightly.

"You're not naïve, you fell in love." Harry said suddenly, but caught himself, blushing slightly.

Kagome laughed bitterly, a sound that shouldn't come from someone so kind. "I fell in love with someone who didn't love me back." She pulled away from Harry and lifted up her sleeve to and her shirt to her side so that the bandages on her still healing wounds were. "I'm sure you recall I also had an arrow in my back." She said quietly as she pulled her shirt back down. "The day I fell here, I had planned on telling him how I felt. Imagine my surprise when I saw him embracing Kikyo, telling her he loved her and saying he would do anything to be with her. And then hearing her say she wanted me dead, and him saying he'd do it." Harry remained silent. "I ran. I had already dropped off the new food and medical supplies at the village, so I ran back toward the well, but I didn't get there in time. While I was running, Kikyo shot me with an arrow and I fell. I know I felt the pain in my back, but I still had enough strength to get up and try to run again. This time, Inuyasha caught me, using his claws along my side and catching my arm along as well." She closed her eyes. "I'll never forget the look of hatred in his eyes. After I fell to the ground, I realized that he never loved me, and he wouldn't ever love me. I guess I lost hope, and was ready to give up. I didn't though. I didn't want to lose those dear to me, and I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me so helpless, so I got up, told him to sit, and jumped into the well. The blood loss and the pain got to me though, and I lost consciousness. The last thing I heard was voices as I fell." She ended, feeling one lone tear fall down her cheek, but wiped it away quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed, and started laughing lightly. "And from what I understand, I fell on your table."

Harry grinned, but it soon turned into a slight frown as he looked at the carefree girl beside him. She had gone through so much, and yet, was still able to smile and laugh like it was nothing. She looked at him questioningly as he watched her with sadness and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't hold it in. You can cry if you want. You shouldn't have to keep it in."

Kagome sat rigid, but then returned the embrace as tears started falling down her cheeks. She choked back small sobs as he rubbed her hair gently and held her. Never being one to cry openly, she let her sobs come out silently as she hiccupped and held onto his shirt. Harry just continued to hold her and let her cry. He didn't know when she finally stopped, but after a while, her breathing evened out and her grip loosened, signaling she'd fallen asleep. Harry smiled as he looked down at her. She looked so serene and calm, even with the tear streaks running down her face.

As he went to get up, her grip tightened again and she whimpered slightly. "Don't go…"she whispered. Harry looked down to see her eyes slightly open and glazed over. "Don't go…" she whispered again.

Sighing, Harry stayed where he was and Kagome moved closer to him, leaning her head against his chest. As her eyes closed once again and her hand fell across his lap, Harry heard her breath out a quiet "Thank you" before they both fell into a comfortable slumber.

* * *

**A few interesting spots in this chapter. I can't, and won't, divulge any information. All things will be revealed in good time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 is up again. A few changes, but nothing much I think. **

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_'Where am I?' Kagome wondered to herself as she wandered down an empty corridor, her footsteps echoing as she walked. Everything was dark, except for the small light that seemed to come out of the walls, giving the area a slight blue tint. Turning left to another corridor, she saw a door. 'What's behind here...? It almost feels like it's calling me…' she thought as she continued to walk toward it._

_Her legs seemed to move on their own as she was pulled closer and closer toward the strange door. The closer she got, the more she felt something pulling at her mind. Not liking the dark aura she felt, she tried to pull back and turn around, but her legs wouldn't listen and she continued to walk forward. Just as her hand was about to move toward the handle, her body seemed to float away from the door, back towards something familiar…a calm sensation in her mind, and the warmth of someone's arms wrapped around her…_

_Wait…what?_

Kagome's eyes shot open. She looked up and saw Harry next to her, his head slightly atop hers, and she felt his arms draped lightly around her. Blushing slightly, she carefully turned her head, not wanting to wake the sleeping boy, and looked toward the window. It was still slightly before dawn; way too early.

_'Why must I always wake up before everyone else?'_ she wondered, yawning slightly. _'Guess I'll just try and sleep a little longer.'_ She closed her eyes again, falling into a light slumber.

* * *

Hermione yawned, stretching her arms above her head and looking around the dormitory. Everyone else was still asleep, but Kagome's bed was empty. She hadn't even heard the girl get up. Maybe she had gotten up a little early and not wanted to disturb anyone. That seemed like a likely answer.

Grabbing her clothes for the day, classes did start today after all, she quickly got dressed and brushed her hair. Getting frustrated with the many knots, she decided it would be better to wear it up rather than fight with it. Looking in the mirror next to the bathroom, she nodded in satisfaction and started heading downstairs, nearly running into Ron as he came rushing out of the boys dormitory.

"Mornin' Hermione." He rushed out. "Have you seen Harry?"

"Good morning. No I haven't seen him. I just woke up myself. Why?"

"Well, he wasn't in the room when I got up."

Hermione raised an eyebrow slightly. "He's normally not one to wake up this early. Neither are you for that matter. Why are you up so early?"

Ron shrugged as they walked down the stairs together. "Couldn't sleep I guess."

Both continued down in silence and nearly fell over in surprise at the sight in front of them when they reached the bottom. They solved the mystery of what had happened to Kagome and Harry at least, but it didn't quite solve the mystery of how they got in that position in the first place. There on the couch sat Harry, fast asleep, with his head leaning on Kagome, who also was asleep as she lay somewhat on Harry's chest, arm draped lazily over him and his across her. If they had a camera, they probably would've taken a picture to use as blackmail for later. Ron was the first to start laughing while Hermione blushed slightly and giggled, not noticing that the sudden noise had woken Harry.

"What's so funny?" he asked drowsily, looking from Ron to Hermione.

"Oh nothing, mate. You two look awfully cozy though." Ron laughed.

Harry looked at him confused before he suddenly noticed the extra warmth and saw Kagome sprawled across him fast asleep. Blushing deeply, he quickly defended himself. "It's not what you think, honest!"

"Oh?" Hermione giggled. "Care to explain then?"

"We both couldn't sleep last night, so we stayed up and talked. I guess we didn't realize how late it got and fell asleep."

"A likely story." Ron chuckled. "Seriously, what –"

"He's telling the truth." Came a sleepy reply as Kagome sat up slowly, stretching her arms as she did so. "I didn't realize I fell asleep on you, I'm sorry." She smiled at Harry and he nodded.

"Why don't we head down to breakfast. You two go change and then we'll go." Hermione said. "Kagome, can I do your hair?"

"Sure."

Both girls headed upstairs leaving two very confused boys behind. Ron shook his head lightly. "Girls." He said.

* * *

Kagome opened the door to the girls dormitory, making sure to be quiet for those still sleeping, and made her way over to her bed, followed by Hermione. She grabbed her clothes and quickly started changing, pulling on clean undergarments first and then slipping into the skirt. "At least these skirts are longer than the ones at my old school. They're much more comfortable too." She commented to Hermione.

"I didn't know school uniform skirts could be shorter than this."

"Oh yes. The ones we had to wear came down to, at the longest, mid thigh." Kagome showed with her hands how short.

"I wouldn't be caught dead in that! Who would make you guys wear something like that?" Hermione exclaimed. "I couldn't imagine."

"Someone who likes short skirts, obviously." Kagome buttoned her blouse and sat down in front of Hermione so she could do her hair. "How about slightly curly?"

"I can do that." Hermione grabbed a bottle of magical hair cream she bought during her last visit to Diagon Alley. Dabbing a bit in her hand, she ran it through Kagome's hair and then scrunched it lightly in her fingers, instantly giving it a slight curl. "How's that?"

Kagome looked in the mirror. "Perfect. Thanks." She quickly slipped on her shoes and robe before they left the room and back downstairs.

Hermione took a side glance at Kagome, who was smiling happily. "So, what exactly happened between you and Harry last night? And don't say it was nothing, I know something had to have happened."

Kagome laughed nervously. "Nothing escapes you, does it?"

"Of course not! Now spill!"

Kagome stopped halfway down the stairs. "We talked." She said simply.

"About what?"

"My, you don't give up. If you must know, we were talking about our pasts. We're very similar in many aspects…It kinda draws me to him in a way. But if you're talking about anything romantic happening, then no, nothing happened. I don't think I'm ready for another relationship yet."

Hermione was confused. Similar? "How are you similar?"

Kagome turned and smiled. "That, is a secret. But, I suppose if you were really curious you could always go look in the library. I bet they have something."

"The library?"

"It would be hard to find…it's probably something you'd have to get permission to read, but if you go back far enough in Japanese history, you'll find something." She said mysteriously and continued walking down to the common room. Smiling at the two boys waiting by the portrait entrance, she quickly walked over to them. "Let's go! I'm hungry."

"Here, here!" Ron laughed as they exited.

They took their time walking since it was still fairly early for anyone to be up yet, so Kagome took this opportunity to look closer at some of the paintings. She was still confused as to how they moved, but she smiled from ear to ear as she watched them. She was so engrossed in her surroundings that she barely noticed when they had entered the Great Hall and sat down at the table. She snapped out of it though when she saw all the food. Grinning, she quickly filled her plate with a little bit of everything just as before.

"Hungry are we?" Harry asked, amused, while the others looked at her shocked.

Kagome laughed at her friends' expressions. "What? I like breakfast." Her expression quickly changed to a slight frown as she felt eyes glaring at her. She didn't need to turn to know who it was; she had seen him limp in shortly after they had sat down. Apparently she'd hurt Malfoy pretty good if he was still limping. Even if he might have been faking it for attention, it put a smile back on her face as she prepared to dig in to her plate of food. "Itadakimasu!" she said, and began eating. The others just shrugged and began eating as well.

Not long after the rest of the students filed in and started eating, the owls started coming in to deliver mail. It seemed just about everyone was getting something today, be it the daily newspaper or a letter from home. Ron and Hermione both received letters from home, along with a newspaper, and Harry got a letter. Kagome sighed and went to grab a piece of toast, but her owl flew down in front of her with a letter in its beak. She patted its head and took the letter. "Arigatou," She said as it flew away with the other owls. She smiled as she looked at who the letter was from. _'Okaa-san…'_ Opening it quickly, she started reading.

_Kagome-chan,_

_I hope you are well and having a good time at your new school. Souta keeps bragging to his friends that you're studying abroad. Jii-chan was quite surprised that you are attending a magical school, but he's starting to accept it and hopes that it will benefit your miko training._

_Inuyasha stopped by today. He seemed surprised that you left so abruptly, and he left quite quickly. Did something happen between you two again? He seemed a little distant when he talked to me. I'm sure whatever it is, you can work it out. Your friends stopped by too, along with that nice Hojo boy. I didn't tell them you were studying magic, but I did tell them that you wanted to get away for a while to study abroad in England and that you might be back during the holidays. They were quite upset and confused, especially Hojo. He always did seem a bit dense…_

_Anyway dear, I just thought I would check up on you. I hope you make lots of friends; maybe you could bring them home with you during one of your breaks. Hope to hear from you soon._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Her friends watched curiously at her multiple expressions as she read the letter. When she put the letter down, she smiled. "It was from my mom. She was just checking up on me, and apparently some of my friends stopped by." Kagome laughed. "Perhaps I shouldn't have left so suddenly like that. They're going to have a fit when I get home."

"Then why did you?" Ron asked. "Didn't you have time to see them before you came here?"

Kagome nodded. "I did, but I was afraid." _'Why did he come looking for me I wonder. I doubt it was to say he was sorry.'_ She thought as she looked at the letter again. "I'll have to send her a letter today so she doesn't worry."

"Might have to wait until after classes today, though. Here comes McGonagall with our class schedules." Hermione said.

"Here are your schedules. If something on there is confusing or wrong, please see me as soon as possible." Professor McGonagall handed them their schedules. "Higurashi, if you have any problems with these classes, please come see me." She handed Ron and Hermione their schedules then walked away briskly.

"Thank you professor." Kagome nodded as she looked at her schedule.

"Look at today!" groaned Ron. "History of Magic, Divination, double Potions, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts…This sucks!"

Hearing Ron's complaining, his brothers Fred and George came up and grabbed his schedule. "Oh? Is someone complaining about their schedules Fred?" George chimed.

"I do believe they are. And rightfully so!" Fred passed the paper to George.

"That's got to be the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Care to have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat? It'll get you out of classes, and it's cheap!" declared Fred.

"Why's it cheap?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up." George said casually as Kagome grimaced.

"We haven't got an antidote yet." Fred added.

Ron moodily shoved his schedule in his pocket. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take the lessons."

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Right George?"

"Right you are Fred. Have you forgotten what happens this year?"

"O.W.L.s. Why?" Ron asked.

"Don't forget all the extra homework." Said Fred, grinning.

"And the late nights."

"I'll take my chances." Ron mumbled.

"Oh be quiet you two. C'mon. We'll be late if we don't hurry." Hermione said quickly.

* * *

The group quietly filed into the classroom, choosing seats in the back near the door for an easy exit. As other students, from both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, started to fill the empty seats, a ghost passed through the wall and stopped at the desk in the middle of the room, which was covered in old papers and books. Kagome stared at the ghost for a minute, not quite believing her eyes.

"Binns is a ghost. He's also very boring." Ron whispered to her. All she did was nod silently.

"Please turn in your books to chapter 4, 'History of the Feudal World'" The ghost of a teacher droned. Pages rustled as the students turned to the correct chapter. On the top of the page was an illustration of a Japanese monk and miko fighting off a demon. "The first part of the chapter deals with Japanese history. Now who can tell me one of the earliest known eras where war broke out in the country?"

Kagome frowned. Kami must have had a reason to humiliate her constantly; this chapter would be a piece of cake. She practically lived during the time period in question. Raising her hand slowly, the professor pointed to her.

"Yes, Miss Higurashi."

"The Sengoku Jidai. Also known as the Warring States Era." She stated.

"Go on."

"During this era, Japan was in a constant state of war, mostly between humans and demons."

"Do you happen to know the cause of the war?" Professor Binns asked dully.

Kagome bit her tongue. Of course she knew the cause. She carried it with her; the Shikon Jewel. She smiled slightly. "The original cause is still unknown, but it became a battle of power between all races for the Shikon Jewel, the jewel of four souls." She said easily.

"Five points to Gryffindor. Now, the Shikon Jewel was –"

Here was where she stopped listening. She already knew all of this, having been part of the battle herself, and of course being the jewel's guardian. She feigned interest and started flipping through the chapter, stopping when she noticed a page with two images. There on the page was an image of the miko Kikyo with a hanyou, obviously Inuyasha, and below was an image of an old well with a girl in modern clothing climbing out of it, surrounded by some familiar faces. Her eyes widened slightly and she closed the book. Someone had documented her time in the feudal era! _'Shit.'_ She cursed. _'This won't end well.'_ She thought. Vaguely hearing the teacher say something about a time traveling miko, she started listening to what was being said, hoping the book didn't mention her by name.

"This particular book does not mention any particular names." Droned the professor, "There are books in the library that do, however. Most of them are in the restricted section. You have permission to go and find these books, for your homework shall be to go through them and write a one foot parchment on at least three of the major events. I would also like a list of names. It should be completed by next week. You are dismissed."

Kagome heaved a sigh of relief. At least she had some time before the whole school knew her secret. Unless, of course, the author didn't use her name. Her friends knew she came from the future, but they didn't know what year. Time traveling was messy business, and any unnecessary changes made in the past, could change the future. As they headed out of the classroom and passed the rush of students, she couldn't help but feel slightly afraid. If, and when, they found out, would they treat her any different? Or, would she be lucky, and not have her name written in the books at all? She caught Harry giving worried side glances at her as they headed down to potions. She had to admit, while she was still apprehensive about people knowing, it was nice to have someone to confide in. Her friends back home would never have believed her if she had told them. Not a chance.

With one class behind her, it was time to see what the next one would be like. They had potions today with the Slytherins down in the dungeons, and from what she had heard, the teacher was, in their words, a "slimy git", and that he discriminated against houses. _'Guess I'll have to find out for myself.'_ She thought as they walked down the dark corridor. It started getting colder as they walked toward the classroom as well. A dungeon was right. Luckily, or unluckily, people were already filing into the classroom and taking their seats, so they hurried in as quickly as possible. The tables were set up to have four at a station, so the group took one of the tables in the back. Much to Kagome's, and Harry's, distaste, Malfoy and his followers were seated directly across from them. He snickered and pointed at them, making comments behind their backs. Kagome kept her anger in check, not wanting to get in trouble. _'He's such a baka! Ugh!'_ she thought.

The students continued to chat amongst one another, even as Snape walked in, but quickly quieted down when he shut the door.

"Settle down," said Snape coldly.

Everyone was already silent, as he made his way up to the front of the class. Kagome looked around nervously. Obviously this man's presence was enough to fully ensure a class's silence. This made her fidget slightly. She'd never met such an intimidating teacher.

"Before we begin," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring at them, "I think it would be appropriate to remind you that next June you will be taking an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of potions." His eyes swept through the class, looking for signs of discomfort. "Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'acceptable' in your potions O.W.L. exam, or suffer my…displeasure."

His gaze lingered on Neville and Harry during this time. Kagome heard Neville gulp.

"This is most likely the last year many of you will be studying with me." Snape went on coldly. "I take only the best into my N.E.W.T class." He glared at Harry slightly, who glared right back. "Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up during the exam: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients, however, you will most likely put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible slumber. You will need to pay close attention to what you are doing." Kagome saw Hermione sit up slightly straighter. "The ingredients and method are on the board. You will find everything you need in the store cupboard. You have exactly an hour and a half…begin."

Kagome looked at the list of ingredients and the directions carefully. She'd made something similar to this back in the feudal era, so this would be fairly simple for her. Smiling, she went to get all the ingredients she would need. As she was about to head back to her cauldron, Malfoy walked in. He smirked at her surprised face.

"What? Surprised to see me?" He sneered.

"Shove off. Or do you need another warning?" said Kagome venomously. She thought she saw a hint of fear, but it quickly vanished as he slammed her into the nearby wall.

"Don't get too confident." He gripped her tightly. "You don't want to mess with me. It might get you into trouble."

Kagome glared, shoving him off her. "I think it is you who shouldn't get overly confident. You don't know what I'm capable of. I can do so much worse than last time." She said icily as she walked passed him and back to her friends.

Malfoy glared at her retreating form, his fists balling at his sides. No one talked that way to him and got away with it. He would make her pay somehow.

Sitting back down at her cauldron, Kagome checked to make sure she grabbed everything she needed, before quickly glancing at the board to reread the directions. She frowned slightly. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; it had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, first clockwise, then counterclockwise; the heat of the flames had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added. How much more complicated could this get? Huffing, she started preparing everything for the potion, glancing quickly at the directions every few minutes to check her work. After adding powdered moonstone, she sat back and let it simmer, watching some of the other students work. Most of them looked extremely nervous, while others looked rather confident.

"A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," called Snape.

Kagome finished her potion, pleased that she had made it perfectly. Harry, and quite a few others, seemed to have fared far worse. Harry's was issuing copious amounts of dark gray steam, much like if something was burning; Ron's was spitting green sparks, which were leaving scorch marks on the table. Hermione's seemed to be the only one at their table besides her own that was done correctly, and as Snape walked by he looked down at it without comment. His eyes gleamed for a moment as he looked at Kagome's potion. He made no comment, which she was grateful for. At Harry's cauldron, he stopped, looking down at Harry with a horrible smirk.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?"

The Slytherins snickered slightly as Snape began taunting Harry.

_'Don't lose your temper.'_ Kagome thought, looking over nervously.

"The Draught of Peace," said Harry tensely.

"Tell me," said Snape coolly, "can you read?"

Draco Malfoy laughed, making Kagome glare at him.

"Yes," said Harry, gripping his wand tightly.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter."

Harry squinted; it was not easy to make out the instructions through the multicolored haze that was now filling the dungeon.

"'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of hellebore.'"

He stopped, feeling his heart drop. He hadn't added the syrup of hellebore, and had instead gone straight to the fourth line.

"What are you missing?"

"I forgot to add the hellebore, sir."

"Well then, this potion is utterly useless. _Evanesco_."

The contents of Harry's potion vanished, and he was left standing next to an empty cauldron. Kagome looked on at the scene seething in anger. No instructor should single one student out for no reason, when there were sure to be way more that were worse. It just wasn't fair!

"Those that have managed to successfully complete the assignment, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name and bring it up to my desk," said Snape. "Your homework is to write up twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making. Due on Thursday, no exceptions."

While everyone else filled their flagons, Harry cleared away his things. His potion had been no worse than Ron's, or even Neville's, yet it was him who would be receiving zero marks for the day's work. He stuffed his wand back into his bag and sat down, watching as everyone turned in their potion. He was the first to leave as soon as the bell rang and when Ron, Hermione, and Kagome reached the Great Hall he had already started eating his lunch.

"I'm sorry about your potion," Kagome whispered as she sat down next to Harry. "That wasn't fair."

Harry nodded, still too angry to really want to discuss it.

Hermione sighed. "It could've been worse Harry. He could've taken more points away."

"Just drop it." Harry frowned. "I'm not hungry. I'll see you in Divination."

Harry got up and left his friends staring after him. Kagome started to get up, but Hermione shook her head. "Just let him be for now."

"This is normal," Ron said, taking a bite out of a sandwich. "Snape always gives Harry a hard time. It's been that way since our first year."

"That's not fair though. Every student should be given an equal opportunity." Kagome exclaimed.

"I agree, Kagome, but there isn't anything we can do." Hermione said sadly.

Kagome looked down at her hands. "I'm gonna go write to my mom. I'll see you later." She got up quickly and headed out of the Great Hall leaving the others behind.

"Those two really are too much alike for their own good," Ron commented. "Think they'll end up together?"

Hermione shook her head. "We'll see."

* * *

Kagome walked up the stairs to the Owlery, pen and paper in hand, and sat next to the entrance to write her letter. Tapping her pen on her chin, she thought about what to write. Nothing exciting had happened so far, unless you counted humiliating Malfoy, but she didn't really want her mother to think she was causing trouble. Obviously, that story was out. Looking down at the paper, she smiled and began to write.

_Hi momma,_

_I hope all is well at home; I'm glad Souta and Jii-chan are excited for me. I miss home already. Things are so different here, it's a little hard to adjust. But, I'm somehow able to manage. I made three great friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I'll be sure to ask if they want to come over during break. I would love for you to meet them. _

_I guess you could say that Inuyasha and I had a fight, though, I don't think this one will be like the others. I would appreciate if you would not tell him where I am. I'm not ready to speak to him yet, if at all. And if my friends from school stop by again, tell them I'll be home during Christmas break for sure, and that I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly. _

_I have to get to class soon, but I wanted to send this off as soon as possible. Please don't worry about me, I'm having fun, and I promise to stay out of trouble. Tell Souta and Jii-chan that I love and miss them. _

_Love you, and I'll see you soon,_

_Kagome_

She reread the letter once before sealing it in an envelope. It was a short letter, but it would have to do for the time being. Standing up and dusting herself off, she walked toward her owl that was sitting next to the window. Smiling, she patted its head.

"I still haven't given you a name, have I?" Kagome said quietly. Thinking for a moment, she tried to come up with a good name, but nothing seemed to fit. The owl looked at her, it's golden eyes tilting with its head curiously. "I know! How about Yuki?" The owl hooted happily, fluffing its feathers. She giggled lightly, patting the bird once more and tying the letter to its leg. "Take this to momma, okay?" The owl, now named Yuki, hooted and flew out the window and was soon out of sight. She watched her fly for a moment before hearing footsteps behind her. Turning quickly to defend herself, she relaxed when she saw Harry.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Kagome shook her head. "It's okay. I was just a little surprised is all."

Harry smiled and took a letter over to his owl Hedwig. Giving the bird the letter, he patted her head and gave her a small owl treat before she flew away.

"What a pretty owl." Kagome said, watching as yet another owl flew to its destination.

Harry nodded. "Her name's Hedwig. Hagrid gave her to me for my birthday when I first started Hogwarts."

"May I ask…who you were writing to?"

"My godfather, Sirius. I thought I would tell him about the new teacher. What about you?"

"My mother. She said in her letter that Inuyasha had come by looking for me, and she was wondering how I was doing." She said looking out the window.

"You must miss them."

Kagome nodded. "I do. But I promised to go home during the holidays, so I'll see them soon." She turned to Harry. "You're more than welcome to come with me, if you want to. I know you probably want to spend the holidays with Ron and Hermione, but…I thought I'd at least invite you."

Harry smiled. "Sounds like fun. Are you sure I wouldn't be intruding?"

"Not at all."

"Then I think I'll accept your invitation."

Kagome grinned and hugged him. "Thank you!"

Harry blushed, but hugged her back. "We should get to class. Lunch is almost over."

* * *

The halls were still fairly quiet as they made their way to the North Tower, meeting only one or two other students along the way.

Divination was Harry's least favorite class, aside from potions, mostly due to Professor Trelawney's habit of predicting his death. She was a thin woman, draped in heavy shawls and beads, and she slightly reminded Harry of an insect with her large magnifying glasses. When they entered through the trapdoor, she was busy putting copies of old battered, leather-bound books on each of the small tables that littered the room. The light was as dim as ever, with lamps covered by scarves and the low-burning, perfume-scented fire, which gave the room a slight hazy look. Professor Trelawney only nodded at them as they took a seat in the back, but her gaze lingered on Kagome.

"You've seen much, child," said Professor Trelawney mystically. "I would be cautious if I were you. Much danger comes your way very soon."

Kagome looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?" she asked as the rest of the class arrived, not giving the Professor a chance to answer. Her last statement troubled her. What kind of danger? She frowned slightly, worried what it might mean.

"She's always like that," Harry said suddenly, bringing Kagome out of her reverie. "I wouldn't worry about it too much about it; she's been predicting my death since first year, and I'm still here."

Kagome smiled. "I know. It's just that something about it troubles me. I've been through, and seen enough to know that it might actually be true."

Their conversation ended there as Ron emerged from the trapdoor and sat next to them. "Made it!" he exclaimed, sitting down quickly. "I had to run to get here. Hermione wouldn't stop talking after you two left during lunch."

"What were you talking about?" Kagome asked.

"She kept going on about – "

"Good day," said Professor Trelawney in her usual dreamy voice, breaking Ron off. "And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely. We even have a new face here.

"You will find on your tables copies of _The Dream Oracle,_ by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your O.W.L. Though, if you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. I would like you all to turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then, divide into pairs. Use the text to interpret each other's most recent dreams. Carry on."

Kagome skimmed through the instructed pages, not really interested. Sure, she was curious to what that dream she recently had meant, but she doubted she would find her answer in a book. She looked up at Harry, who looked just as bored as she did. By the time everyone had finished reading, there was only about ten minutes left for any dream interpretation.

"I never remember my dreams," said Ron.

"I'm sure you remember at least one," Harry said.

He didn't want to share his dreams. He already knew what his regular nightmare about a graveyard meant. He didn't need a book to tell him that.

"I saw a long hallway…" Kagome murmured quietly.

Both Harry and Ron stared at her. She looked up at them.

"At the end of the hallway was a strange looking door. It had a strange aura to it; I've never felt anything like it…"

"Did you go through the door?" Harry asked.

Kagome shook her head. "I didn't. I woke up before I got even close to it."

Ron started flipping through the pages of the book. "Well, according to the book, it might mean something involving that place will happen soon. But who listens to a book." He shrugged.

Kagome smiled slightly. "Maybe I'm just paranoid, right?" Somehow though, saying this out loud did little to qualm her fears. Something about the aura of that hallway wasn't right, and her miko powers were almost always accurate. She wouldn't voice her fears to her new friends, but she decided that it would be best to keep her senses sharp from now on.

* * *

"Aw man! D'you realize how much homework we have already? First Binns with that essay on some jewel , then Snape wants a foot long essay on moonstones, and now we've got a full month's dream diary from Trelawney!" Ron put his face in his hands. "I hope that Umbridge woman doesn't give us any…"

"It's really not that much homework." Hermione said. "Just don't procrastinate and you'll be fine."

"Be glad you aren't in a Japanese school. We had twice the amount of homework in one day, and it was much harder." Kagome said, reaching into her bag for the next book she would need. "Japan has a high suicide rate because of the amount of stress students go through. It's not just students, but they do make up a large number of them. To be honest, this is nothing compared to the amount of homework I had in one day."

Ron shuddered and turned to Harry. "Remind me not to live in Japan."

Harry smirked. "I'm sure it's not that bad. You might want to focus on what's going on here though. If we already have this much homework, think of how much we're going to have when it gets closer to exam time." He said, laughing at Ron's newly subdued mood at the thought of more homework.

Professor Umbridge was seated at the teacher's desk when they arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, her pink cardigan standing out against the dark walls. Harry was yet again reminded of a large toad as everyone started taking their seats.

The class was quiet; Professor Umbridge was still someone unknown and nobody knew how strict she would be.

"Good afternoon!" she said when the whole class had sat down.

Only a few people mumbled a "Good afternoon," in reply.

"_That_ won't do," said Professor Umbridge. "I would like you to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class."

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted back to her.

"There, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Professor Umbridge said, her voice almost sickeningly sweet. "Wands away and quills out."

The class exchanged gloomy looks as they all put their wands away, knowing that this was about to be a boring lesson. They watched as Professor Umbridge took out her own wand and tapped the blackboard.

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_A return to basic principles_

"From what I understand, your teaching in this subject has been quite fragmented." She stated, as she turned to face the class. "The constant changing of teachers, who don't seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has resulted in your being far below the standard expected. That shall be changed. We will be following a carefully structured, _theory_-centered, Ministry-approved course. Copy this down, please."

She tapped the blackboard again.

_Course aims:_

_Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic_

_Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used_

_Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use_

The room was filled with the sound of scratching quills on parchment for a few minutes as the class hurried to copy down the notes.

"Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge."

"Good," she said. "I would like you to turn to page five and read chapter one. There is no need to talk."

Professor Umbridge left the blackboard and returned behind the teacher's desk, watching them closely as they opened their books to read.

Kagome simply stared at the book. She had read it a few nights ago and found it absolutely ridiculous. How was this going to help them learn defensive magic? She quietly looked around the room and saw everyone else trying to read, except for Hermione. She, like her, simply sat there staring at Umbridge. Hermione looked in her direction, and shook her head, not wanting to discuss it, so Kagome went back to watching the teacher. To be honest, she gave her the creeps. Her aura seemed slightly tainted, but also, in a way demonic. She shuddered in her mind, ridding herself of the feeling the professor gave her.

"Do you two have a question about the chapter?" Professor Umbridge asked sweetly.

"No." Kagome said coldly. "I simply find this book to be absolutely worthless and I will not waste my time reading it again."

Professor Umbridge looked at her, and most of the other students looked up as well. They had never heard someone talk to a teacher so coldly before. Even her friends looked at her shocked.

"And what, my dear, makes it worthless?"

Kagome looked her straight in the eye. "This book does not tell you anything about defensive spells, nor does it teach you how to use them. There aren't any examples of incidents where they have been used. You expect me, and everyone else, to read something that will not prepare us for the real world? I've seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime. No, I've seen enough bloodshed to last ten lifetimes. This will not help them when they are in danger."

Professor Umbridge smiled, showing her slightly pointed teeth. "That is where you are mistaken my dear. You are barely sixteen, you haven't seen anything."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other confused. What did she mean by that?

Kagome stood up. "I take it you were not here when I first arrived here at this school."

"I was not. You were eleven."

"No, I wasn't. This is my first year. I fell from the ceiling, covered in blood, the first day of term. Do you know how I got those? No? Let me tell you. The one I thought I loved and his clay pot of a girlfriend tried to kill me."

"That is most likely a lie, and you –"

"No. It isn't." Harry said. "She's not lying."

They had the whole class' attention now. Two students standing up to a teacher was unheard of.

"I take it you've heard of the Shikon Jewel, correct?" Kagome stated.

"Yes, but what has that got to do with it? It's only a legend." Professor Umbridge said.

"That is where you are wrong. The jewel is real. I am its guardian. The priestess mentioned in the five hundred year old story is me."

Everything was silent; every eye was on Kagome.

"I think, my dear, it would be best if you stopped lying." Professor Umbridge said sweetly. "That occurred more than five hundred years ago."

"I'm not lying!" Kagome yelled. "You want proof?" Kagome took the jewel from under her shirt and placed it on her desk, and proceeded to take of her shirt until she was down to a tank top. Almost everyone held their breath. Her bandages showed through, and a few scars littered her arms and back. "Tell me, is this proof enough? Do you believe me now? I'm tired of death! These kids know nothing of the real world. If they are suddenly face to face with a battle they won't know what to do! They'll be killed! What happens when they become targets of Voldemort? I hear you also don't believe that he's alive and well."

"He's not back." Umbridge growled out.

"He is, and you know it!" Harry exclaimed. "Do you plan on telling everyone Cedric Diggory's death was an accident? It was murder!"

"Ten points from each of you, and detention for the rest of the week!" Umbridge shouted.

"That's not fair!" Harry shouted.

"I can easily make it more, Mr. Potter." Umbridge said.

"Do what you will to me, I've had worse." Kagome said quietly. "But do not expect me to enter this class again." With that, she grabbed her belongings and walked out, leaving her textbook behind. Her friends watched her with wide eyes, not really knowing what to do after that.

The bell rang a few seconds later, dismissing the class. Everyone shot up and left as quickly as possible, not wanting to risk their house points as well.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all ran to find Kagome. They searched most of the hallways and empty classrooms for almost an hour, but there was no sign of her.

"Blimey, who knew that that's why she was here." Ron said as they decided to head to the common room.

Hermione looked sad. "All those scars…I wonder why she kept it a secret though."

"She had her reasons," Harry muttered. "She told me not to say anything until she was ready to."

"Wait, you knew?" Ron exclaimed, turning to Harry.

"She told me last night, but she made me promise not to tell you guys." Harry shrugged.

"But why?" Hermione looked down. "Aren't we her friends?"

"We are, but put yourself in her shoes for a minute. You would do the same thing. She was scared. Can you honestly say that people would believe you if you told them you've traveled to the past?"

They both nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Passing yet another empty classroom, they stopped when they heard light sobs coming from inside. Hermione opened the door slightly and peered inside, seeing Kagome in the back corner. Just as she was about to go in, Harry pulled her back.

"Let me go first, okay?" he whispered and they nodded.

"Tell us when to come in, right?" Ron said.

Harry quietly walked into the room and toward the distraught girl. Hearing footsteps, she looked up. "Kagome? You okay?" he asked quietly.

"I shouldn't have said anything. Now they all know." She cried. "I don't know what to do! I know they would have found out eventually, but I'm still afraid." She put her face back in her hands. "I want to go home!"

Harry knelt down next to her. "Why are you afraid?"

Another sob raked her body. "I don't know…" she choked out, looking up at him. "I don't know…I can feel their auras. They're all afraid of me. Because I'm different, they're afraid of me."

Harry pulled her into a hug. "Don't be afraid, okay?" He looked over to where his friends were standing and nodded to them before turning his attention back to Kagome. "You have friends here. So what if everyone knows about your past, all you need to do is keep strong and your head up. Don't let anyone get to you."

"Harry's right, Kagome," Hermione said. "We're here for you."

Ron nodded. "What she said. Hell, we'll keep all those idiots away if you want us to."

Kagome nodded and wiped her eyes. "You guys are right. I shouldn't be afraid." She looked up at them. "Thank you."

* * *

**Again, not sure I like all the edits I've done, but I'll let you know if I change anything else.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5. Hopefully I made all my corrections. I can't remember, but as far as I can tell, this chapter is indeed finished.**

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

For the next few weeks, most people either avoided Kagome or whispered behind her back. She didn't let it get to her though. Like her friends told her, she would keep her head up. Dumbledore had excused both her and Harry from the week of detention, much to the displeasure of Professor Umbridge, and had also excused Kagome from the class as well. She continued to write to her mother once a week, telling her about her classes and her friends, and, at her friend's request, she started teaching her them Japanese. Harry and Hermione were quick to grasp the language and could now hold small, basic conversations. Ron, however, didn't understand it at all and gave up after the first try. "I have a hard enough time with English." He had said. Kagome still tried to teach him a few basic words and phrases so that she could include him in their discussions.

The nightmare about the hallway continued, each time the vision became clearer, but she never moved any closer to the door. About a week after the first nightmare, Harry started to have the same one, but unlike her, he moved closer to the door. This was slightly unnerving, but for now they would let it slide. If it got worse though, Kagome suggested they talk to Harry's godfather Sirius, or Dumbledore.

It also seemed like Harry and Kagome were becoming closer as well. After the classroom incident, she found she started to get slightly nervous around him, and she blushed easily. They often did their homework together, or they would be seen sitting in the common room talking quietly. Hermione seemed to notice it right away, but didn't bring it up, deciding it would be best if they figured it out themselves.

As early November rolled around, students started talking to their friends about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip and what they wanted to buy from the little village. Other students were more concerned about their homework, which continued to pile up. With Christmas break creeping up quickly, Kagome was looking forward to going out and finding gifts for her friends and family.

With the weather turning sour, most students stayed indoors, preferring to stay in their common rooms by the fire. Kagome sat in one of the large chairs by the fireplace, sketchbook in hand, not really paying attention to the conversations around her. Her mind was elsewhere. She'd been thinking a lot lately; mostly about a certain boy, but also about her family, feudal and modern. For now though, her thoughts trailed to the last few weeks, and she wondered where her relationship with Harry was going. Sure, she liked him, but was it more than that? '_It can't be. I've only known him for a few months.'_ She thought. '_But…sometimes…that's all it takes…'_

Her mind traveled to all the times he's helped her, especially after the fiasco with Umbridge. It seemed like the toad-like professor had it out for her and Harry, and kept trying to take points for whatever reason. Also, if someone was talking about her behind her back, he'd tell them off, and tell her to ignore them. When Professor Dumbledore talked to them about the detention they had received, he offered to take responsibility for hers as well. He helped her with her homework when there was a word she didn't understand. And lately, when she was missing her family, he knew just the right thing to say to cheer her up.

* * *

_A few weeks earlier..._

_Kagome sat at the Gryffindor table writing a letter to her mother, pausing every few words trying to think of something to say. Her mother's last letter included a picture of her family in front of the Goshinboku tree on their shrine, and even if she didn't want to admit it, she was homesick. _

_She wrote a few more sentences before stopping again to pause and look at her family's smiling faces. Harry watched her silently as she wrote, noticing how hard it was for her to write._

_"You'll see them soon."_

_Kagome looked up. "Huh?"_

_"Christmas break is just around the corner. I bet they can't wait to see you." Harry smiled, and she couldn't help but to smile back._

* * *

Kagome sighed. "Maybe I like him more than I thought…"

"Like who?"

Kagome jumped, not noticing Hermione sitting next to her. "Hermione! You scared me!"

She laughed. "Sorry, sorry. So tell me, who do you like?" She knew the girl liked Harry, it was plain as day to her, but she wanted to hear her say it herself.

Kagome looked at her like she had grown two heads. "Wh-what?"

"Who. Do. You. Like." Hermione grinned. This really was amusing.

Blushing madly, she looked away. "I'm not telling."

"Aww, c'mon," Hermione pouted. "I won't tell, I promise! Dare ga suki desu ka?"

Looking around to make sure no one was listening, Kagome sighed. "Yakusoku?" If she was going to tell her, might as well tell her in a different language.

Hermione nodded. "Yakusoku suru."

Kagome sighed again. "Harry-kun ga…suki desu…" she said quietly, blushing.

Hermione grinned. "Yappari! Itsu desu ka?"

She shrugged. "Wakaranai." She switched back to English. "It…just sorta happened I guess. But…"

"But what?"

"I don't know if I should say anything. I mean, what if he doesn't –"

"Kagome," Hermione interrupted. "Listen, you have to tell him. You'll regret it if you don't. And don't say you aren't ready for a relationship, I know that's what you're thinking." She scolded.

Kagome looked down. "I just…don't want to be hurt again. I don't think I could handle it a second time."

Hermione looked over at Harry, who was engrossed in a chess game with Ron on the other side of the room. "Kagome, you have to tell him. I see the way you look at him. He looks at you the same way. Trust me, I've been watching you for a while now."

She looked over at Harry. He was laughing at Ron for some reason. The carefree look he had made her smile sadly; even if she didn't tell him, seeing him smile like that was enough for her.

"Please, just tell him. You don't have to do it now, just…think about it. Or, you could tell him during the Hogsmeade trip. I'll help you."

Kagome turned quickly. "But that's tomorrow!"

"The sooner, the better."

Kagome sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll try."

* * *

_All around her was dark; no light shone as she walked down what she knew was the same hallway again. She turned a corner on the right, seeing some form of light coming toward her. Looking back, she couldn't tell which way she came from; she could only go forward._

_Gulping, she took another step forward, then another. Five steps, six steps… any second now she would see the strange door. Eight steps, nine…there it was. The same door she'd been dreaming about for weeks. This time it was different though. She was closer this time. Taking another step, she stopped abruptly, feeling a sudden chill up her spine. Someone was watching her…but who?_

_She looked around frantically, looking for the source, but only seeing darkness. A voice laughed manically around her. "You'll never win. He won't save you." The voice laughed, and then it was gone…_

Kagome shot up, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She looked around her, seeing everyone still asleep. It was still pitch black outside, meaning it was probably around one in the morning. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly to calm her nerves. '_That dream again…why do I keep having it? And what did that voice mean by he won't save me? Who?'_ Taking another calming breath, she lay down again, quickly falling into a light slumber.

When she woke again, everyone else was gone and it was bright and crisp outside. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a warm sweater before running downstairs, hoping she hadn't missed everyone before they left. She was lucky. Her friends were waiting for her in the common room.

"Good morning, sleepy head!" Hermione chirped. "I was wondering if I was gonna have to wake you up myself, you were taking so long. Everyone else just left."

"I'm sorry! I didn't sleep very well last night."

"S'all good. Let's go, before we miss the trip!" Ron said.

Ron and Hermione started for the portrait hole, leaving Harry and Kagome behind.

"We can stay here if you don't want to go." Harry said.

Kagome blushed lightly. "N-no, I want to go. I've never been to Hogsmeade."

"It's fun, you'll enjoy it."

"Hurry up you two, or we'll leave without you!" called Ron.

Laughing, the two hurried after their friends and ran to meet up with the rest of the students going.

As usual, Filch was checking every student for anything related to the dark arts before they were allowed to leave to the village. Fred and George Weasley were caught with a few of their joke shop products, but they just laughed it off and continued on their merry way. The group just shook their heads. Those two would never change. The rest of them passed through with no problems and they all continued walking, chatting amongst themselves.

Hermione pulled Kagome up ahead to talk to her, making the boys shrug. "Girls." They said, shaking their heads.

"Are you going to tell him?" Hermione whispered.

Kagome shot a side glance at Harry. "I don't know." She whispered back.

"Come on! You promised!"

"I did not."

"Yes you did. You said last night you would try."

Kagome huffed. "Fine. I said I would try, that doesn't mean I will for sure."

"Please, please, please just try! I'm telling you, you'll regret it if you don't."

"I don't want to tell him in a crowded place. That would make it difficult."

"Then I'll make sure you two end up alone somewhere."

"Do what you will, but I'm not going to guarantee anything."

Hermione sighed dramatically. "You're no fun."

Ron and Harry watched the two of them whisper back and forth to each other. "I wonder what they're talking about." Ron mused.

Harry shrugged. "Who knows."

"Come on, boys! Let's go to Honeydukes!" Hermione called.

They both grinned. "We're there!"

Hogsmeade was fairly calm today. Students wandered the streets with their friends, talking and laughing, while the locals continued with their daily routine. Kagome thought it was a nice little village; it reminded her a little bit of Kaede's village back in the feudal era. She smiled as she watched one woman pick up her daughter who was crying from falling down. The candy shop, Honeydukes, was the next shop down, so the group walked quickly to get inside.

"It's cold today!" Hermione exclaimed, rubbing her hands together. "I think it might snow tonight."

"You can say that again." Ron agreed.

"It's not that bad. Back in the feudal era, you get used to sleeping outside with just a blanket even in weather like this." Kagome said thoughtfully. "I think it's refreshing."

"Speak for yourself." Ron said. "Hmmm….what do I want to get? Oh! I know!" He walked off toward the back corner looking through the different types of candy.

"What's good?" Kagome asked.

Harry thought for a second. "Well, that depends. What kind of candy do you like?"

"I mostly like chocolates."

"Then you'll like the regular chocolate bars. They're the best." Harry handed her one. "This one's my favorite."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks. I'll be right back, I'm going to go pay for this."

They each bought what they wanted before heading back out into the cold. Hermione shivered. "Where to next guys?"

"How about the Shrieking Shack?" Kagome suggested. "I'm curious to see if it's really haunted."

All three laughed. "It's not haunted." Hermione said.

"Professor Lupin, when he was a student here used it when he transformed into a werewolf. That's how it got its name." Ron added.

"We can go anyway though." Harry said. "Since Kagome can sense auras, maybe she can tell us if it really is haunted."

Kagome grinned. "Yay!" She giggled and ran off in the direction of the shack, making her friends run after her.

"Wait up!" they called.

She didn't stop until they reached their destination. Looking up the hill, she saw the old dilapidated building. Closing her eyes, she searched for any bound spirits that may be there. The others watched silently as she stood there, wondering if she sensed anything. Sighing, she opened her eyes and turned toward them and shook her head. "Nothing. There are no bound spirits."

Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "I don't like ghosts." He muttered.

Kagome giggled and sat down on a nearby rock. "It is peaceful here though. I bet this would be a good place to come if you wanted to be alone."

Hermione, noticing now would be the perfect opportunity, decided to create a distraction and leave the two alone for a while. Grinning, she said, "Hey, why don't Ron and I go buy us some hot chocolate. You two wait here, we'll be right back, okay?" Grabbing Ron's hand the two ran off.

"Hey! Wait!" Kagome got up, but they were already gone. Sighing, she sat back down. '_That wasn't fair! Hermione really got me good.'_

Harry looked after his two friends that just left confused. "Oh well." He shrugged. "They'll be back." Kagome nodded.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, not really knowing what to talk about, when Malfoy came into the clearing with his two guards.

"Well, well, what have we here." He sneered. "The famous priestess and Potter."

Harry glared, standing next to Kagome. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Oh, nothing, just thought I'd pay little miss priestess back for what she did a while back." He took out his wand, muttering a spell under his breath and aiming for Kagome. Not knowing where the spell was headed, Kagome jumped up and pushed Harry out of the way, the spell hitting her, knocking her back into a large rock behind them. She shrieked as she smacked her head against it, knocking her out, a small trail of blood dripping down her forehead. "You know what they say, payback's a bitch." He started laughing not noticing Harry get up and punch him in the face.

Malfoy fell back a few feet, glaring at Harry. "What was that, Potter? That barely stung." He spat, wiping blood off his mouth.

"You don't attack someone who isn't armed, Malfoy! Especially a girl!" Harry punched him again, but didn't get away fast enough as Malfoy punched him back.

Crabb and Goyle started to come help Malfoy, but he held his hand up. "This moron isn't even worth it." He said. "Let's go." They walked off in the same direction they came from, laughing about what Malfoy just did.

Harry glared after them. He wanted to go after them, but it wasn't worth it. He'd just be a prick and tell one of the teachers, which would cost him more house points. Rushing over to Kagome, he knelt down and checked her head. He sighed in relief. There was a small scratch near her forehead, but it wasn't bleeding terribly. "Kagome! Kagome, wake up!" He gently shook her, smoothing some of her hair out of her face. "Kagome!" She winced, whimpering at the pain in her head. "Kagome!"

"Ittai…"

"Are you okay?"

Kagome looked up at Harry's worried face, nodding. "I'm okay. Help me up?"

He grabbed her around her waist, helping pull her up into a standing position, and led her back over to a wooden bench. She reached up, touching where her head impacted the rock, feeling blood. "Are you sure you're okay?" he placed a hand on the side of her face. "You hit your head pretty hard." Ripping off a piece of his cloak, he used it to clean a bit of the blood away.

"N-no! I'm okay, really." She winced as he dabbed the cloth to her forehead. "It's just a scratch."

"It doesn't look like just a scratch to me." Harry said, wiping the last of the blood off and tossing the fabric. "You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way. I should have been the one taking that hit, not you."

Kagome looked up at him. "He would have attacked me regardless. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"I still could have done something before that spell hit you, though!" Harry walked over to the old fence near the shrieking shack, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Sighing, she stood up and walked over to where he stood. "I admit, I was reckless, but I only did it to keep you from getting hurt." Seeing the bruise that was starting to form on his cheek from where Malfoy hit him, Kagome sighed. "Guess you still got hurt anyway though." She touched his cheek gently, closing her eyes to concentrate her energy. Harry's eyes widened slightly as she glowed a faint blue, but it disappeared quickly as she opened her eyes again. "All better." She smiled.

"Can all priestesses do that?" Harry asked, touching where he had been hit, feeling no more pain.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm probably the last miko alive in this era with powers so advanced. And even the ones before me didn't have this much power."

They stood in an awkward silence for a few moments before Kagome decided it was now or never. She looked up at her friend who seemed to be staring off into space, suddenly feeling nervous. It may not be the best time to tell him, after their encounter with Malfoy, but it might be the only time they were truly alone. She cleared her throat slightly. "Before Malfoy showed up…I uh…I wanted to…umm"

Harry looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Ano…I…I…uhh…" she started blushing. "I wanted…I wanted to…"

Harry knew something was up, she wasn't normally this nervous around him. He watched her as she tried to find something to say, but she wouldn't look at him. He grabbed one of her hands, making her look up at him in surprise. "Daijoubu ka?" He asked, knowing she'd probably feel more comfortable speaking in her language.

"Watashi…watashi wa…Harry-kun ga…" She looked up at him anxiously. "Watashi...Harry-kun ga suki desu…" she looked down, embarrassed. There. She told him. She let out a shaky breath, waiting for him to respond. When he didn't say anything, she started to get scared, shutting her eyes tightly trying not to cry. It surprised her when she felt him hug her tightly.

"Watashi mo…" he whispered. "watashi wa Kagome ga suki." He hugged her tighter when she hugged back.

Ron and Hermione returned a few seconds later. Hermione smiled.

"Took her long enough." She muttered, smiling at the two.

Ron looked at her. "You wanted us to leave them didn't you?"

"It was all part of the plan. I didn't know what the outcome would be though." She smiled and walked up to the couple. Harry looked up when he saw his friends walking toward them, letting go of Kagome, but still held her hand.

"What took you guys so long?" Harry grinned. "We were wondering if you got lost."

They laughed. "No, we didn't get lost. We ended up not getting hot chocolate though. So how about we go to the Three Broomsticks instead." Said Hermione.

"Sounds like a plan."

The group made their way to the small pub and quickly grabbed a table as the waitress came up to them.

"Hey Rosemertta, can we get four butter beers?" Ron asked.

"Sure thing, kids." She brought back the four butter beers quickly. "Can I get you anything else? How about something to eat for this new young lady here?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, thank you."

"Okay. Let me know if you want anything."

Kagome laid her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes, ignoring the drink in front of her.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

She nodded slightly. "I'm okay, it's just a headache."

Harry frowned. "Ron, can you go see if they have anything for headaches?"

"Sure."

"No, I'm okay. I'll just take some aspirin when we get back, okay?"

Hermione dug through her purse and took out a small bottle, taking out two pills. "Here. This should help."

Kagome opened her eyes and took the pills from her, swallowing them both before laying her head back on Harry's shoulder.

"She seemed fine a while ago." Hermione stated.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. "Malfoy and his goons came shortly after you left. He shot off a spell and it hit her as she pushed me out of the way. She smacked her head pretty hard..."

Hermione gasped. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? Kagome, are you sure you're okay? You could have a concussion."

"I'm fine, really."

"Hey, Harry, isn't that Cho?" Ron asked suddenly, looking passed Harry at a girl with long black hair staring at them.

Harry turned his head to look. When she saw him look at her, she walked up to them.

"Hi, Harry." She said cheerfully.

"Hi."

"I don't think I've met you before," she said, looking at Kagome carefully.

"This is Kagome, my girlfriend." Said Harry.

"Nice to meet you," Kagome said quietly.

Cho frowned slightly, but quickly smiled again. "Well, it was good seeing you again. Bye."

"What was that all about?" Ron watched her as she left quickly.

"Obviously she likes Harry, and was surprised at the fact that he now has a girlfriend." Hermione stated.

Well, that was news to him. He didn't like Cho like that anymore. He had given up after the Yule Ball last year, which was probably for the best. They didn't have much in common anyway. He looked down at Kagome who still had her eyes closed. He smiled. "C'mon, let's get you back up to the common room. I'll carry you on my back."

Kagome opened her eyes and nodded.

They paid for their drinks and left; many other students were starting to head back as well. Reaching the path back to the castle, Harry bent down so Kagome could climb on his back. Making sure she was stable, they began the trek back. When they were about half way, Harry heard Kagome whisper, "Thank you."

"Are you sure you don't want to go see Madame Pomfrey?" he asked.

"Hai. Daijoubu." She murmured.

The rest of the trip back was silent after that.

The common room was fairly quiet when they returned. Some were down at dinner, but everyone else was either talking quietly amongst themselves or doing homework. A few looked up when Harry walked by carrying Kagome, but quickly went back to what they were doing.

Hermione helped Harry set Kagome on the couch before he sat next to her while Ron and Hermione took the two arm chairs by the fire. Kagome quietly laid her head against Harry's chest, watching the fire burn. Harry stroked her hair for a moment. "Go ahead and sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She smiled and closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

"I take it you're staying down here tonight?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry grinned. "Of course. I did promise after all."

His two friends simply shook their heads. "Whatever. I'm going to bed." Ron stretched and walked up the stairs, waving behind him before disappearing.

"I think I'm going to bed too."

"G'night Hermione."

"Night."

It wasn't long after that that everyone else went to bed either. They all bid Harry goodnight as they passed, and soon only he and Kagome were left. He watched her sleep for a while, before falling asleep himself.

'_You really are something special…'_

* * *

**You've probably noticed I've been using a bit of Japanese in some of the conversations. Since I do speak the language fairly well, and since it is Kagome's native language, I wanted to incorporate some of it into the story. **_  
_


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter. It's pretty much completely changed from how it was, and it works much better. **

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Things went by smoothly over the next few days, and Kagome was finally feeling perfectly at home and with her nightmares finally subsiding, she found she could finally be a normal teenager. She enjoyed spending time with her new friends, finding it hilarious when they would get into silly arguments over nothing. Her relationship with Harry was also growing, having become an official "couple" after the trip to Hogsmeade, and she couldn't have been happier. She still sent weekly letters to her mother, telling her and her family about her new friends and what she was learning, and her mother would send sweets and a letter from home in reply.

As the holiday season quickly approached, she wondered how her friends in the feudal era were doing. She missed them dearly and couldn't wait to visit them during Christmas break. She especially missed her son Shippo. It was harder than she had previously thought to be separated from him for so long, and she longed to hold him in her arms. Once or twice she caught herself daydreaming during class, and had to remind herself to push away thoughts of home. Her friends noticed her unhappiness during lunch one day, and to try and ease her troubled mind, decided to spend the afternoon outside by the lake.

"It'll be good to get outside." Hermione encouraged as they walked the school grounds. "It's so nice out; we should take advantage of it while it lasts."

Kagome smiled at her friend. They had acquired a sisterly bond over the past few weeks that was similar to her relationship with Sango. While this thought made her sad, she also cherished it, knowing she had made a wonderful lifetime friend.

Harry and Ron eagerly agreed with her. "We have so much homework; it'll be nice to take a break for a while." Ron said as he stretched his arms above his head and Hermione threw him a slight glare.

"Only three more weeks until Christmas break." Harry announced as they sat down under one of the trees. "I bet your family is looking forward to seeing you."

Kagome nodded. "I can't wait to see them. My other family as well. I miss them so much."

"Are you going to visit the feudal era during your vacation?" Ron asked.

"Yes. I really want to see my friends there. I made a promise to them, and I want to keep it."

"What are they like?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Who?"

"Your friends in the feudal era."

Kagome thought for a moment before answering. "Sango is like a sister to me. She's strong, compassionate, and brave; Miroku is the older brother I never had. He may be perverted, but he's so generous and kind that you almost forget. I know I can go to him when I need advice. He really loves Sango too; I adopted Shippo shortly after I began my travels there. His parents were killed, so I became his mother. He's so cute. He's still so young, but he's so smart, and he tries so hard to be brave. I miss them so much." Kagome sighed as she tried to imagine what they were up to at that very moment. Miroku was probably groping Sango again, and Shippo was probably just shaking his head as he watched Sango beat him upside the head. That thought alone brought a smile to her face. She felt Harry wrap his arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What about Inuyasha?" Ron asked.

Kagome stiffened slightly, making Harry glance at her slightly.

"Inuyasha is…"Kagome tried to think of a positive word to describe him. Nothing came to mind. Before, she would've been able to easily come up with something, but now? Nothing. She settled on something simple. "Inuyasha is strong. He had a very rough life, what with being only half demon, which has made him a bit rough around the edges, but he never let it get him down. He said he would protect me." She laughed slightly.

Ron cast his eyes downward. "Sorry I brought him up."

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm fine now. It's time I put it behind me." She looked up at Harry, smiling. "Besides, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have met all of you!"

* * *

After talking a bit longer the group started to head back to the castle. It was almost dinner and they didn't want to be late. The walk to the Great Hall was a fairly quiet one, with a few comments here and there, but when they reached the entrance, however, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall. She looked at the four of them as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't. She looked at Kagome and opened her mouth about to speak, before abruptly shutting it again.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" Kagome asked.

The normally stern woman looked slightly conflicted as she looked between the girl and her friends, finally shaking her head, as though she had made a decision. "Higurashi, follow me please. Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, you may continue on to dinner."

Looking over at her friends, Kagome saw the concern in their eyes, wondering if they should insist they should come too. Realizing whatever Professor McGonagall had to say was important, she thought it would be best if they continued on to dinner without them. "Go ahead guys. I'll be there shortly." Her friends looked at her with curious glances, but at the urging of Kagome, they let it go and left for dinner. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Kagome turned to Professor McGonagall.

"What's wrong Professor? Why couldn't they come as well?"

"I think it best you follow me. Professor Dumbledore would like to have a word with you."

She said nothing else as she beckoned Kagome to follow her. Confused, Kagome followed silently behind the stern professor. Nothing was spoken during their short walk to the headmaster's office, but Kagome was starting to get anxious. What with not knowing what was going on, she figured it could be anything. When they stopped at the large gargoyle standing before the staircase, the nervousness feeling got worse.

"Lemon Drop." Professor McGonagall called, making the gargoyle come to life. "Go on up. The Professor should be there waiting for you." She said before leaving her.

Kagome watched Professor McGonagall for a moment as she walked away before she turned and walked up the winding staircase to Dumbledore's office. Kagome knocked and heard a voice from inside say "enter". Taking that as her cue to go in, she opened the door. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Kagome said uncertainly.

The Headmaster looked at her for a moment before saying, "I bet you're wondering why you're here, are you not?"

"I'm a little confused, Professor." Kagome said. "Professor McGonagall didn't say anything."

Dumbledore nodded. "Something quite unusual happened today, Miss Higurashi. A letter arrived addressed to me from your mother telling me to please come to your home at once."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Did something happen? Are they okay?"

He chuckled. "Everyone is fine; they send their love, in fact. You see, someone came into their home early in the morning crying for their mother. She asked me if I would take this child to you, saying you would know what to do."

Kagome looked confused for a moment before a ball of fuzz suddenly leapt from behind Dumbledore and launched itself onto her.

"Mama!"

Kagome instantly hugged the small child, falling to her knees in shock. "Shippo-chan!"

"Mama! Gomen! I didn't listen and came here…please don't be mad at me!" Shippo cried.

Kagome smiled softly and touched his head. "Of course I'm not mad at you. I'm just so happy to see you." She hugged him close. "I've missed you so much!"

Professor Dumbledore watched with a smile as the tiny family of two was reunited. Not wanting them to miss dinner, he coughed to get their attention. "As happy as this scene is, I assume you also do not wish to miss dinner." He said as he raised a quizzical brow.

Kagome stood up quickly, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you sir." She said. "Thank you so much!"

Dumbledore smiled. "You are quite welcome. Your son is more than welcome to stay with you during your stay here at Hogwarts. However, he must accompany you to your classes, as we have no way of providing someone to watch over him."

"That won't be a problem, sir. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Very well, off you go."

As she was turning to leave, Kagome had one last thought. "Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Higurashi?"

"I was…well…I was wondering about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. I know you said I was exempt from the class, but I wanted to make sure…"

"Make sure it wasn't causing any trouble for me?" he supplied for her. Seeing her nod, he smiled. "Don't worry about it, Miss Higurashi. Everything is fine. Although, I will admit that Professor Umbridge is asking questions as to why, I have not told her anything that will bring you to harm."

Kagome sighed in relief. "Thank you, Professor, and I'm sorry for burdening you with my secrets."

"Not at all. Now, off you go."

While they were on their way to the Great Hall, Kagome asked questions about their friends back in the feudal era. What they were doing? Had they had found any more jewel shards? They walked a little slower so to enjoy each other's company as Kagome wasn't very hungry anymore. Shippo was quite content now that he had his mama back, and he talked avidly about what was going on back in the feudal era.

"Sango and Miroku decided to wait for you to come back before they found more shards. We've been helping surrounding villages with demon attacks. I couldn't do much to help, so I usually stayed behind with Kaede-sama."

They finally made it to dinner, several eyes watching them make their way to the Gryffindor table. They were greeted heartily by their friends, who obviously had questions about what was going on.

"What did Dumbledore want? Who is this little boy?" Hermione asked as Kagome started dishing herself a plate.

"This is my son Shippo. Apparently he made it through the well and came to this time to look for me. My mom sent a letter to Dumbledore and he brought him here." Kagome answered. "I don't know how he got through the well though. Normally only me and Inuyasha can go through."

"Is he gonna stay with you from now on then?" Ron said between bites of chicken. "Like, go to class and everything?"

Kagome nodded. "He will be going to class with me as there is no way to provide a caretaker for him during the day. Professor Dumbledore said he may stay so long as he doesn't cause any trouble."

After they had finished eating, Harry suggested they all go back up to the common room before everyone else. "We can play Exploding Snap or something." He said.

Kagome and Hermione agreed. "Good idea. Hermione, I have an idea I want to share with you, and with the common room empty, it would be the perfect time to ask."

Walking down the hallway towards the stairs, Kagome once again held Shippo, who was now quite full from eating and was starting to doze off. The girls walked a few steps ahead and talked amongst themselves about the day's events and what could possibly happen tomorrow. The boys were busy talking about quiddich, so they didn't really want to intrude. Besides, it was boy talk anyway. Shippo mumbled something about wanting more food, making the girls giggle and not notice someone walking towards them. Harry, however, did notice and started to walk a bit faster in case something happened. When Kagome did finally notice, she stopped walking.

"Well, look who it is."

"What do you want Malfoy?" Kagome sneered. She really didn't like his aura and the way he treated her friends. "Why don't you just run along back to your own friends and leave us alone."

"Oh, I was just passing by," he taunted. "I simply had to see if the rumors were true. Turns out they were."

"And what rumors were those?" Harry asked as he came up beside his girlfriend. Ron and Hermione watched apprehensively, not knowing if they should step in before someone said something stupid.

"Only that the new student had a child with her now and that he was strange. Turns out I was right after all. You really are just a whore if you already have a child." Malfoy laughed.

Hermione and Harry had to hold Kagome back from lunging at him. "Let me at him! He will pay for saying that!" She screamed. In her anger, her skin started to glow with her miko powers, causing Shippo to jump out of her arms and hide behind her. She could see Malfoy falter a bit at the sight of her powers, but he continued anyway.

"Is that why you're here? Did your family send you away? Guess they couldn't face the shame of having someone like you associated with them. You must really be a nuisance to them."

Something in Kagome snapped then, and she broke free of her friends' hold on her, grabbing Malfoy by his front and slamming him against the nearby wall.

"Mama! Stop! You'll hurt him!"

"Stop! Kagome, he's not worth it." Hermione reasoned as they tried to pry her off of him.

Kagome continued to struggle for a few seconds, but eventually calmed down. She glared at the still laughing Malfoy. "Don't you DARE call me that again, or you will regret the day you ever met me."

Malfoy simply shrugged and walked off. "Whatever. You don't scare me."

As they watched him walk off, Kagome huffed. "Let's hurry before people start coming." She scooped up Shippo from the ground and quickly walked off, still furious, and slightly hurt at his words.

The common room was quiet when they stepped inside. There were two or three others who had left dinner early as well, but for the most part they were alone. Kagome sat down on the couch with a worried Shippo in her lap followed by Harry, who sat next to her. Ron and Hermione each took a chair and they waited for Kagome's frazzled nerves to finish calming down. '_How DARE he call me a whore.'_ She thought angrily.

"You did the right thing, you know." Ron chimed in. "Not going after Malfoy, I mean."

Kagome stared into the fire. "I know." She said. "That doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt."

"He's just trying to make you angry. He does it to me all the time" Harry said. Kagome looked down at Shippo and smiled.

"You're right. I shouldn't let it get to me. He's just a jerk."

They all stated their agreement before falling into a comfortable silence, only broken when Shippo mumbled while stretching. "He reminds me of Inuyasha. He's just a bully".

"So tell me," Hermione started, looking at Kagome with interest, "what was this idea you had?"

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about our classes, and how they're all geared toward teaching us different aspects of magic: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, etc. But when I think about how Defense Against the Dark Arts is being taught it makes me worry about those in that class. They aren't learning anything."

"What can we do though?" Ron asked. "With Umbridge here we're not going to learn anything useful. And Dumbledore can't exactly fire her to find a new teacher. Besides, the position is cursed."

"Cursed?"

"We haven't had a solid DADA instructor in all the 5 years we've been here. Our only good one was Professor Lupin in our third year. He resigned though because people found out he's a werewolf." Harry said. "All the other ones that came either died or were crazy."

"Oh…"

"So what was your idea?" Hermione asked.

"What would you say if I told you I wanted to try and set up our own DADA class without the teacher's knowledge?"

* * *

**Hopefully things will start moving forward a bit more from here. I haven't quite figured out how I want the rest of the story to progress, I just know that it will. **

**As always, your support and patience is very much appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Next chapter is a go.**

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_Kagome was once again walking down the dimly lit corridor, watching as the mysterious door came closer as she walked. Voices whispered, not quite discernable, as she got closer and closer, before she suddenly felt a dark and sinister aura surrounding her. As she looked around frantically, searching for the source, she thought she saw the walls twisting and warping around her, as if closing her in._

"_I told you, you'll never win." The same voice she'd heard before sneered. In a frantic attempt to escape, Kagome made a dash for the door, only for it to slip farther away from her. The voice cackled menacingly around her, and the light that was once bright around her started to fade. "You and your friends won't escape me. I'll always find you."_

_A dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of her, causing her to stop quickly. His face, though hidden, was exhibiting a deep-set twisted grin, almost as if he were enjoying watching her try and escape. He laughed again, reaching out with a pale arm to grab her as she tried to turn around and run. Tripping over something, or was it his cloak reaching from the shadows, Kagome turned suddenly seeing his dark shadow directly above her…_

Kagome jumped awake, holding back a scream. Running a shaking hand over her sweat drenched face, she looked around her, seeing nothing but the bed curtains surrounding the bed.

* * *

"How many people came, do you think?" Ron asked as they all walked through Hogsmeade.

"I know for sure at least five people are coming, not including us." Hermione replied. "I thought we would meet before the holidays to discuss what's going on."

"That's a good idea." Kagome said as she adjusted Shippo on her shoulders. "Why are we going this way though? I thought we were going to The Three Broomsticks."

"Well, I thought about it, but it's just too crowded there. With so many students meeting there at once, it would be suspicious. I figured we didn't want to be overheard, seeing as how we're totally breaking several school rules." Hermione replied.

"That makes sense and all, but where are we going?" Harry asked. "There aren't exactly any other places we can go."

"Yes there are." Kagome said. "I don't know why I didn't notice before, but we're headed toward the only other pub around here. It's not the prettiest, but nobody ever goes there. It's perfect."

Hermione nodded, answering Harry's unvoiced question. "The Hog's Head is a bit more…dodgy…but it's the only place we won't be overheard."

"I still can't believe you came up with this idea, Kagome!" Ron exclaimed. "It's brilliant!"

Kagome blushed. "It's not that brilliant. I just want the other students to be able to learn Defense properly." Frowning once more, her thoughts trailed back to her dream last night. _'There must be a reason I'm having this dream. I wonder if I should tell them.'_ Her frown deepened. _'No. It'll just make them worry. Especially Harry. He's got enough to deal with right now.'_

Walking down the main street past Zonko's Joke Shop and the post office, they came to a side street where a small inn stood. Its battered sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture of a boar's severed head. They hesitated outside the door nervously.

"It kinda reminds me of some of the villages we saw in the feudal era…" Kagome muttered. Shippo nodded in agreement, looking at the building in apprehension.

"Well, come on," said Hermione nervously.

This was nothing like the Three Broomsticks, which had a feeling of warmth and cleanliness. Instead, the Hog's Head comprised of one small and very dirty room that smelled like what might have been some kind of barn animal. The windows were so full of grime that hardly any daylight reached the inside, and was instead lit with small candles on wooden tables. The floor seemed earthy at first glance, though as they stepped onto it, Kagome realized it was stone beneath several years' worth of dirt and dust.

"It's not so bad." Kagome offered.

Her friends all raised an eyebrow in question.

"And what makes this place not so bad?" Ron asked.

"Shippo and I have seen worse. There were some villages that were so run down they couldn't even afford proper roofing."

"Don't forget the ones that were full of weirdoes." Shippo added. "Those were creepy."

"There are weirdoes here though," said Ron quietly as they looked around.

He was right. Apparently it was a fashion statement to keep your face hidden here. Over at the bar was a man whose whole head was wrapped in dirty bandages, though he still managed to gulp several glasses through a slit over his mouth. Not to mention the two figures in hoods sitting by one of the windows, or the dark corner where a witch with a thick black veil that fell to her feet sat. Harry shuddered slightly. Definitely not a friendly bunch.

"I don't know about this," Harry muttered as they made their way over to the bar. "What if a teacher finds us here? Especially Umbridge."

"They wouldn't be able to stop us. I've double – and triple-checked the rules. We're not out-of-bounds, and I specifically asked Professor Flitwick if we were allowed to come here. He said yes, but advised we bring our own glasses. I just don't think it's wise to parade what we're doing."

"Hermione's right, Harry. We're safe here." Kagome smiled at him. "Besides, I can tell if someone unwelcome is coming or not. I'll be sure to warn everyone should that happen."

The barman slid toward them out of the back room. A grumpy-looking old man, he was tall and thin with a lot of gray hair.

"What?" he grunted.

"Four butterbeers, please," Hermione said nervously.

The man pulled up three very dusty bottles from beneath the counter and slammed them on the bar.

"Seven Sickles." He said.

Harry paid for the drinks. The barman looked at Harry quizzically, glancing quickly at his scar, then turned away and deposited the money in an old wooden till. Making their way to the farthest table, they sat down, looking around, while the man in bandages ordered another drink.

"So who is supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked as he opened his bottle.

"Just a few people," Hermione said, checking her watch and looking toward the door. "I told them to be here about now. I'm sure they all knew where to go."

"Maybe this is them now." Kagome said as the door to the pub opened, bringing in a split second of daylight.

First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho and one of her friends, then Luna Lovegood, who had a dreamy look on her face; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson, and a Hufflepuff girl that Harry didn't recognize; several others followed, and bringing up the rear were Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordon.

"A few people?" Harry asked skeptically. "That's not a few people."

"The idea seemed quite popular," said Hermione. "Ron, could you bring up some more chairs?"

"Mama said that it didn't matter how many people came, as long as they wanted to learn." Shippo said. "Though, by the looks of it, only a few are here by choice."

"It'll be fine," said Kagome. "I didn't think Hermione had told this many people, but I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"That's not very comforting." Harry replied glumly. "Half of these people think I'm crazy."

The barman had stopped whatever he was doing, glaring at all the newcomers. It was possible he'd never seen his pub so full.

Fred ordered everyone butterbeers and started passing them out as the glaring barman brought them up. "Cheers," he said. "Pay up, everyone, I don't have enough for everybody."

"Hiya, Harry," said Neville, taking the seat across from Harry.

Harry tried to smile back, but he didn't speak. More people sat down, some shooting Harry mistrustful looks and muttering to their friends. Once everyone had pulled up a chair, everyone quieted down, all eyes on Harry.

"Uh," said Hermione, not sure how to begin. "Well – um – hi."

Everyone turned their focus to her.

"Erm…well, you know why you're here…um, Harry had the idea – I mean" – Harry had shot her a sharp glare – "Kagome had the idea – that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts – and I mean, really study it, instead of the rubbish that Umbridge is teaching, because we all know that's not Defense Against the Dark Arts. We just thought that it would be good if we took matters into our own hands."

She paused, looking toward Kagome and Harry for input.

"What she means is, that we would be learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory, but real spells." Kagome added. "We need to be prepared for the real world, where not everything is sunshine and daisies."

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, right?" said Michael Corner, who had been watching them closely.

"Of course," said Hermione. "But I want to be properly trained in Defense as well because…because…Lord Voldemort is back."

The reaction was immediate. Half of them shuddered and one or two of them spilled butterbeer on themselves mid swig. All of them, however, looked at Harry.

"Where's the proof?" said a blond Hufflepuff aggressively.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it…" Hermione started.

"You mean, Dumbledore believes _him_," the blond stated.

"Who are you?" Ron asked rather rudely.

"Zacharias Smith," he said. "I think we have a right to know exactly what makes _him_ say You-Know-Who's back."

"Look –"

"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry. He now understood why most of them were there. "What makes me say he's back? I saw him. Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year. I'm not going to waste an afternoon trying to convince anyone."

"All Dumbledore told us was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought his body back to Hogwarts. There were no details."

"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone, I can't help you," Harry said angrily. "I don't want to talk about it. If that's all you're here for, you can leave."

Nobody left their seats, however. They all gazed intently at Harry for a few moments, but were drawn back to Kagome as she started to speak.

"If you want to learn some defense, we need to figure out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to –"

"Is it true," interrupted a girl with long plait hair, "that you can produce a Patronus?"

There was a murmur of interest around the group.

"Yes," said Harry, still slightly defensive. Kagome put a hand on his arm gently, calming him down.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

"You don't know Madam Bones, do you?" he asked.

"She's my aunt," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. So, is it really true?"

"Yes."

"I never knew that!" said Lee, looking impressed.

"Mum told Ron not to spread it around." Fred grinned. "Figured you got enough attention."

"She's not wrong," mumbled Harry.

"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?"

"Um – yea…"said Harry.

Several people exchanged awestruck looks and a few people muttered "wow" softly.

"And in our first year," said Neville to the group, "he saved that Sorcerer's Stone."

"Not to mention, said Cho, "all the tasks he had to get through during the Triwizard Tournament last year."

"Look," Harry said calmly, "I don't want to sound modest or anything, but I had a lot of help with all that stuff."

"Not all of it."

"Well, yea, okay so I did bits of it without help, but the point is – "

"You're not trying to weasel your way out of teaching us this stuff, are you?" said Zacharias.

"He never said that." Kagome snapped. "Listen to what people are saying for once, will you? Seesh!"

"Okay," Hermione started, "so we need to find a day that works for everyone. This is important."

"How about once a week?" Kagome offered.

"That sounds good."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with Quidditch practice." Said Angelina.

"Now where are we going to actually do this?" another student asked.

"The library?" Katie Bell offered.

"I highly doubt Madame Pince would allow us to do jinxes in the library." Said Harry.

"We'll try and find somewhere. And we'll let everyone know the day and time when we find a place. So, how about we all write our names down so we know who all was here. This will also be an agreement saying you won't tell Umbridge – or anybody else for that matter – what we're up to.

Some looked a little hesitant, but signed anyway. Once the paper was signed, the group started to disperse in groups of two and three.

"I think that went quite well," said Hermione happily.

"A few of them still looked rather unhappy about it," Shippo stated thoughtfully. "I would keep an eye on some people, just in case. You never know who's going to blab and say something."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Kagome ruffled her son's hair and turned to Harry. "I'll help you teach. I may not know a lot of magic, but I can help in other areas that are also important."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"We'll figure out a lesson plan together when it gets closer to the first meeting. But for now, I think we can be satisfied that lots of people really want to learn."

"Ne, Harry!" Shippo climbed up Harry's shoulder eagerly.

"What do you need?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Can we go play now? I wanna see what's in the shops! Is there a candy shop?"

"Calm down, Shippo," Kagome told him. "We can go look around, there's still plenty of time before we have to be back."

"Hai, mama."

"Ikimashou?" Harry asked.

"Hai!"

"I'll meet you in the candy shop, okay? There's one thing I need to go do." Kagome said quietly.

"Okay." Harry nodded. "I'll make sure he doesn't get too many sweets."

"Thanks" Kagome kissed him on the cheek before running off, leaving Harry with a light blush and a big smile.

Things were looking better already!

* * *

**So far I have up to chapter 8 done, so you'll get one more chapter up tonight. Depending on how classes go tomorrow, the next chapter might be up sometime tomorrow night or this weekend.**

**Cheers!**


	8. Chapter 8

**And this is as far as my edits go for now. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak. Until then!**

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

As Kagome watched her friends walk off towards the candy shop with her son, she slipped a piece of paper out of her pocket. A letter from her mother presented itself as she unfolded it, and she scanned it of its contents quickly before refolding it and placing it back in her pocket. In her last letter, Kagome had asked for Christmas gift ideas, and while the holiday was still a month or so away, she wanted to get her gifts as early as possible. She already had her gifts for Ron and Hermione, so all she had left was her family and Harry. Shippo was easy. Just get him candy and art supplies and he was happy. She now had ideas from her family, but she was absolutely stuck when it came to Harry. Maybe she could ask him discreetly when she met up with them later. Her plans settled, she made for the closest gift shop and walked in.

The shopkeeper greeted her briefly before returning to his work, so Kagome was left to browse. Finding a few things Souta would like, she looked at the cost of each, going for the cheaper one in the end. Mama and Jii-chan were next, though Jii-chan would probably prefer something a bit more normal. Not seeing anything for the rest of her family, she paid for the item she chose and walked out, searching instead for a clothing store. Her mother loved scarves, so maybe she could find something in her house colors or something. Looking at her watch, she decided it would be best to start walking toward where her friends might be and try and finish her shopping another day. She bumped into a few people on the way, but as she reached Honeydukes, something caught her eye in the shop next door. It wasn't what she had originally planned to get for her mother, but it was something that she could give to both her mother and her grandfather, and it gave her a great idea. Walking quickly into the shop, she asked the shop owner how much for it and bought it on the spot, tucking it deep in her bag where it would be safe. Smiling to herself, she now went into Honeydukes to collect her friends.

"Mama, look!" Shippo exclaimed as he ran over to where Kagome had just walked in. "Harry-kun said he would buy me some candy!"

Kagome smiled and looked over at Harry who was eyeing her sheepishly. "He did, did he?" Shippo nodded excitedly and told her about what kinds he wanted. "Slow down kiddo, you may pick out four pieces."

"But – "

"No buts." Kagome said. "However, you may also pick out two more, one for grandma and one for uncle Souta."

Grinning, Shippo, bounded off to where Harry stood and told him which ones he wanted to buy. Kagome stood there watching them, smiling softly, as Ron and Hermione came to wait with her.

"You look so much happier now that Shippo is here." Hermione said, nudging her friend's shoulder.

"I never realized how hard it was to be away from them. But, when he suddenly showed up like that, it was like a hole had been filled. If only slightly."

Ron glanced over at the kitsune with curiosity. "How old is he? He doesn't look much older than about five or six."

"In human years he's probably about six. He was probably four or five when I found him. I'm not sure how different demon years are from ours as far as maturity, but there are times when he acts like more of an adult than the child he should be."

"It's probably the era he was born in." Hermione said. "Hard times force children to mature faster."

Kagome nodded and smiled as Harry and a now very happy Shippo walked over. "Thank you." She said.

"For what?"

"For treating him so kindly. He can finally let his guard down and enjoy his childhood." Kagome smiled.

Harry smiled. "It's nothing. I didn't really get to have a childhood myself, so to be able to do this is fun."

"I picked out ones for grandma and uncle Souta too! I didn't know what they liked though, so I got chocolate." Shippo handed Kagome the bag of sweets before climbing up to her shoulder.

"Is he always this hyper?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes." Said Kagome as they made their way over to pay for the candy. "Most of the time he acts more like an adult, but whenever we visited a new place in the feudal era he would always be excited, even if he didn't always show it."

The walk back up to the castle was filled with laughter as the group told jokes and discussed the things they wanted to do over the holidays. Wrapping their cloaks around themselves against the cold, they walked through the castle doors and hurried back to the Gryffindor common room. It was mostly empty, as most of the students were still in the village, but there were a few who had come back early to do homework. The group took their usual place near the fireplace and unloaded their bags. Ron had bought a few things from Zonko's, and was showing Harry while the girls talked quietly amongst themselves.

Kagome fished through her bag and handed Shippo one of the chocolates he had picked out. "You can have one for now, but we don't want to spoil dinner." She had told him. She then fished out her Potions essay and textbook for Hermione to go over.

"I think I got most of it right. There was one thing about it I didn't get here," she pointed to where she had written about the properties of moonstone, "and I was hoping you could tell me if I missed anything."

Hermione grabbed the essay and read over it quickly, glancing at the book every so often, before handing it back to Kagome. "It looks fine to me. I would possibly write a bit more on the advantages of using moonstone, just to add a bit more to the essay itself."

Kagome nodded. "Thanks." She looked over at the boys, who were now engaged in a game of Exploding Snap. "Think they would get terribly upset if we left for dinner without them?"

"Probably not. They'll come down when they're hungry. Shall we go now, then?" Hermione asked.

"Sure. I was hoping for some quality girl time anyway." Kagome stood up from her spot on the couch. "Shippo, you can come with us, or you can stay with Harry and Ron until they come down to dinner."

The kitsune looked up at Kagome as he was chewing on a chunk of chocolate. "I'll stay with Harry-kun. You can go have, as you call it, girl time." He grinned.

They looked at the boys one last time, making sure they weren't paying attention before darting out the portrait hole and bursting into a fit of giggles.

"I can't believe they didn't even notice we were going to dinner." Kagome shook her head. "Aren't boys usually the first ones to realize it's time to get food?"

Hermione laughed. "You would think so, right? Especially with the way Ron eats."

Kagome nodded. "I haven't seen someone eat that much, or that quick, since I met Inuyasha."

Hermione glanced at Kagome at the mention of the person who had tried to kill her, surprised to see her smiling softly. "I'm okay Hermione. I'm over it, and I've forgiven him. I realize now that even if he did love me, we couldn't be together, and I'm okay with that. Some things just aren't meant to be." She looked at her friend. "Besides, I found someone who likes me for who I am."

Hermione grinned. "Let's hurry and get some food."

The Great Hall was starting to fill with students as more came down for dinner. The girls quickly found a spot to sit at their house table and dug in. A few people still sent Kagome strange looks, but other than that, they were left alone. She figured this would happen anyway, so she left it as it was. It would hopefully all blow over during the next few weeks and soon be forgotten. That's what she was hoping, anyways. By the time the boys had come down for dinner, they were half way finished with their plates.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us it was time for dinner." Ron said as he dished himself a helping of mashed potatoes.

"You seemed quite content to be in your own little world, so we thought we would come down before you and have some quality girl time. No harm in that." Hermione stated.

"What's so special about having 'girl time'?" he inquired, making quote hand gestures with his hands. "Is it something that can't be said in front of boys or something?"

Hermione glared. "Honestly, Ronald, what's so bad about wanting to get away from you guys to have a conversation with another girl. You wouldn't understand, seeing as how you're not female."

As the two bickered, Harry turned to Kagome. "They sound like an old married couple." Kagome observed.

"Just like Sango and Miroku, ne mama?" Shippo said, stuffing a chicken wing in his mouth. "Except that Miroku is a pervert and Sango has every reason to hit him upside the head."

Harry laughed. "I thought these two were the only ones who acted like this."

Grinning, Kagome replied, "At least Ron doesn't grope every female around him. That would be horrible."

"Oh yea. I forgot." Harry said. "I have detention tonight after dinner, so I might be back to the common room late."

"With who?"

"Umbridge. Apparently wanting to actually use defensive spells and telling the truth is against the rules now." Harry said bitterly. "Anyway, don't wait up for me. She'll probably keep me until way after curfew."

"It's fine. I don't mind waiting. Just be careful around her from now on. There is something about her that just doesn't sit right with me."

Harry smiled. "I'll remember that."

* * *

Harry knocked on a large door in a deserted hallway. Hearing a voice telling him to come in, he opened the door. The room was covered in pink wallpaper and covered in pictures of cats, all of which were meowing in their frames. Umbridge herself was sitting at her desk looking over some papers that looked like homework. Looking up when he came in, she smiled at him and motioned for him to take a seat at the small desk in the corner.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter. You may take a seat over there." She said with a fake sweetness.

Frowning, Harry went and sat down. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're going to be writing some lines for me, Mr. Potter." She handed him a piece of parchment and a quill. "You are to write _'I must not tell lies'_."

He gritted his teeth to bite back any retort he had. "How many times?"

"Oh, I think as many as it takes to…sink in." She replied. "You may start."

Harry grabbed the quill and pulled the parchment toward him. Going to dip the quill in ink, he noticed there was no ink on the desk. "Professor, there's no ink."

She smiled sarcastically. "You won't need it."

Confused, Harry starting writing. The first two or so lines came out in red colored ink, but by the third and fourth time, he started to feel a sharp pain in the hand he was writing with. Trying to ignore it as nothing, he continued, hoping that the time would go by quicker so that he could leave. The pain continued and steadily turned into a throbbing before he felt something trickle down his wrist. Looking down at his hand, he noticed blood trickling down. Alarmed, he turned to Professor Umbridge, who just sat their smiling as if nothing was wrong. Eyes widening, he realized what she was smiling about. _'She knew! That's why there was no ink!'_ He winced as his hand started throbbing even more.

"Is there a problem?" Professor Umbridge asked sweetly.

Harry looked up at her. "No, Professor."

"Carry on."

Wincing, Harry continued writing out the lines with Umbridge's blood-using quill. After what seemed like several hours, Umbridge told him to stop.

"Come over here, Mr. Potter." Umbridge's voice called. Harry numbly walked over to her desk. "Hand please." He showed her his hand. "Hopefully this will teach you not to spread nasty stories that simply aren't true." She smirked. "You may leave." As he turned to leave, she called out to him. "Be sure you remind Miss Higurashi to stay out of trouble."

Well, if that wasn't a subtle hint to tell him she was watching them he didn't know what was. Harry glared at the woman before quickly leaving the room. He looked at his hand where the phrase had been engraved into his skin, wincing as the dried blood around the open wound pulled at the skin. "Damn…" He walked even faster toward the common room, not wanting to attract attention from the lingering students in the halls. Kagome was certainly right about one thing, that woman was twisted in a way that was definitely not normal. Sighing heavily, he tried hiding his hand a bit in his sleeve as he passed a few students next to the common room portrait before giving the password himself and going in, instantly feeling the warmth from the fireplace.

"Harry!" Kagome ran over to greet him as he walked in. "I'm surprised you're back this early. What did she have you do?"

Harry shrugged. "Just some lines."

Kagome looked him in the eyes, as if trying to read his thoughts to make sure he was telling the truth. "That's not all." She said. "She did something to you, I can see it."

"It's nothing –"

"I will not have that woman hurting my friends." Kagome stated icily. "Tell me what she did."

"Harry-kun, why is your hand bleeding?" Harry looked down to see Shippo staring at his hand.

Kagome's eyes flashed dangerously as she grabbed his hand, eyes widening at the words carved in his hand and bleeding. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Harry…she…she did this to you…?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I did have to do lines. But I had to do them with a quill that uses your own blood as the ink and carves the words into your hand."

"Ne, shouldn't you tell someone about this? I highly doubt this is allowed." Shippo observed. "On second thought," he looked at Harry's hand, "don't tell any of the teachers."

"Why not?"

"Because," Kagome said, "that's what she wants. Right now the Ministry is interfering with the curriculum. Why else would she be observing teachers and making new rules that make no sense? The other professors won't be able to do anything. If they do, it'll just make things worse."

Harry sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Come sit down." Kagome pulled him over to the couch. "I'll clean this up."

Going through her bag and grabbing a first aid kit ("You never know." She had said.), Kagome grabbed a gauze pad, covered it with alcohol, and began dabbing gently at the blood around the wound.

"Yowch!" Harry tried to pull his hand away. "That stings!"

Grabbing his hand firmly, Kagome continued cleaning it, removing all the blood. "If you want it to heal properly, this is the best way." She then grabbed a thick looking ointment and rubbed it into this hand. "This is an ointment I made myself using herbs and oils. It should help with the pain and also help it heal faster." With that, she placed a bandage on his hand and firmly wrapped it with tape. "There. All done." She smiled. "Normally, I could heal something like this with my miko powers, but since it was done with something magical, I'm not sure I can do anything."

Harry flexed his fingers. "Thanks." Looking around, he noticed most of their housemates doing homework or talking amongst themselves, but he didn't see his other friends. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"They went down to the library a while ago. Something about Ron not doing his History of Magic essay correctly. I'm not exactly sure. Hermione was yelling at Ron, and that's what I caught from it." Kagome giggled.

Harry shook his head. "He'll never learn."

The portrait door swung open, revealing a very disgruntled Ron and a satisfied Hermione. From the looks of it, she had successfully gotten Ron to redo his homework. They made their way over to the couch and sat down. Ron gave Hermione a scathing look as he took the armchair near the fire.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't know why you made me write the entire thing over." Ron huffed. "It was fine the way it was."

Hermione glared. "It was not 'fine', Ronald. You completely missed the point of the assignment. Honestly, you should really pay attention in class."

"I did pay attention!" Ron argued. "I wrote down the homework."

Kagome sighed. "You guys, I really don't want to listen to you argue all night. You're acting like children."

Hermione looked over to her friend. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Kagome shrugged. "It's just tiring to have to listen to you yell at each other constantly."

Ron turned his attention to Harry.

"So how was detention? Did she have you clean something or did you have to do extra homework?" he asked.

"She had me do lines." He replied.

"That's not too bad." Ron put a finger on his chin in thought. "At least she doesn't have you do what Snape would." He shuddered. "I don't ever want to see a frog again."

"But Ron," Kagome grinned, "you see one every day."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, confused.

"Didn't you know? Professor Umbridge is a toad." Kagome grinned as the group started laughing.

"That's a good one." Ron laughed. "Best of all, it's true."

For the rest of the night, the group talked quietly amongst themselves, having already finished their homework. Kagome had gone to grab her sketchbook earlier and was now drawing a portrait of her friends as they talked. Her sketch book was nearly full now, mostly with sketches from the feudal era, but lately drawings of her friends or the surrounding area of the school. Soon she would need a new one, along with some new pencils. All of hers were getting worn down. _'I'll just buy a new one when I go home for Christmas.'_ She thought tiredly.

Kagome looked over at Shippo, who was now draped lazily over Harry's lap totally passed out. The day had definitely been a long and busy one, so she supposed they should head to bed early tonight. She didn't want to be late for class in the morning from sleeping in.

"Well, I think I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day." Kagome gently lifted Shippo from Harry's lap and held him. "I'll see you all in the morning." Leaning over, she kissed Harry's cheek. "Goodnight."

Ron whistled after she was out of sight. "You sure are lucky, Harry. Not just anyone can get a girlfriend like that."

Harry smiled. "Yea, I guess I am lucky."

"What do you say? One round of chess before bed?" Ron suggested.

"You're on."

* * *

Kagome tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, murmuring incoherently. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead as she strained against the nightmares pulling at her mind.

_Walking down a long and dark hallway, Kagome tried to run from the voice that mocked and laughed at her. There was no going back now. It seemed as if the hallway itself was keeping her from turning back, forcing her to keep moving toward the large door at the end. No lights shone around her, just endless darkness, the only light seeming to come from the door itself. _

_"You'll never win." The voice laughed. "He won't save you."_

_Kagome turned, frantically looking for the source of the voice. "Leave me alone!" she screamed, running for the door._

_The voice laughed again. "It's useless. You'll never escape."_

_Reaching the door, Kagome pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on!" Kicking the door, she saw it move slightly. Noticing a small crack in the frame, she got an idea. Using her miko abilities, she shot a charge of energy toward the door, causing it to crack more. Hurling another blast of energy at the door, it crumpled in front of her. Panting, she looked into the room. It was pitch black, just as the hallway was, but there were shelves upon shelves filled with glowing orbs. Feeling out for any aura, Kagome felt energy come off the orbs in waves. There was also a more sinister aura around the place. It not only came from behind her, but also in front of her. _

_Looking behind her again, she noticed two red eyes staring at her through the emptiness, and they were getting closer. While both sides held a darker aura, she decided that the best option for now was to enter the room. She took two steps inside before she felt something pull her back toward reality…_

Gasping, and opening her eyes quickly, Kagome sat up in bed frantically looking around her. Everyone else was still asleep. Sighing heavily and wiping a hand across her face, she lay back down, hoping to forget the recurring nightmare. She had gotten farther this time. She had almost entered the room behind the door. Shuddering at the thought, she closed her eyes and once again fell asleep.

* * *

**Chapter complete. Hopefully I'll have the next one up this weekend.**

**Cheers!**


	9. Chapter 9

**1/21/2012**

**Here's chapter 9. It's mostly a filler chapter, so there isn't really much going on, but it might be important later. Who knows. Anyway, I pretty much slaved over this for about 4 or 5 hours, and it's about 12 pages long. I'm gonna go to bed now.  
**

* * *

**To Mend a Broken Heart**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

After waking up for what seemed like the millionth time, Kagome sighed, giving up in her hopes of returning to a peaceful sleep. Glancing quickly at her still sleeping kit, she dressed quietly, grabbed one of her books off the table beside her and made her way down to the common room. It was still dark out, probably around four in the morning, maybe four-thirty, but she needed to keep her mind occupied with something other than her dreams, which were becoming more vivid and real with each one. The voice especially. It seemed like each time she had this dream, the voice that mocked her became more sinister, almost taking on the physical form of a man, who grabbed at her and tried to suffocate her. Whoever he was, his aura was menacing, evil, frightening. After the aura she felt started to take a physical form, even if it was just a shadowy figure, she decided it would be best to keep record of what she saw, heard, and felt. A dream journal in a sense, but much more detailed. She included her own thoughts and speculations as to what she was seeing. Was it a premonition? She'd had those before, well, more like a "bad feeling", but none of them ever turned out well. This was different. This was almost more tangible than any premonition she'd had in the past. It was like she was standing in an actual place and trying to find something she couldn't find. This dream gnawed at her now, made her skin crawl. She knew she would have dark circles under her eyes today, even if she did manage to fall asleep again.

Letting out yet another sigh, she looked away from the fire in the fireplace, down at the book she had in her lap. It was one of the books Dumbledore had given her when she first arrived here, but she had never bothered to look through it. _"Dreams and Their Meanings"_ by Miranda Knight stared back at her. It was obviously a muggle book, but Dumbledore must have given it to her for a reason. She didn't put stock in those so-called "foretelling" dreams. She trusted what her instincts told her, the "bad feelings" she'd been having since she was a child. Her grandfather called them premonitions, but she had a hard time using that term. She never saw anything with those, she just got a really bad, almost sickly feeling in her stomach, and the hairs on her neck would stand on end. It happened the night before her father died too. She got the sense that someone was watching them, and that something bad was going to happen the next day. She had told him so, but because she was only six, he had only laughed and told her there was nothing to worry about. She shuddered; bad memories were not what she wanted to focus on right now. Cracking the book open to its table of contents, she scanned the chapter headings, and turned to the one titled _"Types of dreams and what they mean"_ and began to read.

_A dream is defined as a "sequence of sensations, images, or thoughts passing through a sleeping person's mind". Dreams have been a topic of study dating as far back as 4000 B.C. and have been around for as long as the first civilization came to be, becoming a normal part of human existence. In our dreams, we can go anywhere, be anybody, or do anything. When we dream, we are like passengers on a moving train, unable to control our actions and choose our surroundings. We let our mind take over, in a sense. Sometimes, dreams can be understood in the context of repressed thoughts. They serve as an outlet for those thoughts and impulses we repress during the day. We feel liberated in our dreams, and behave in a manner that we do not allow ourselves to in our waking life._

_Visions and ideas can come from your dreams. Authors, screenwriters and poets all turn to their dreams for stories. Dreams can help us find solutions to our daily problems and maybe see things from a different perspective. _

Kagome stopped there, huffing in annoyance. This was such a waste of time. Why she was even reading this was beyond her. She had hoped it would give her an insight as to what her dream meant, or maybe find a way to interpret it. Turning the next few pages to get away from the pointless explanation of what dreams were, she stopped, seeing a list of dream types and small explanations as to what they were. Now she was getting somewhere.

_Daydreams  
Daydreaming is classified as a level of consciousness between sleep and wakefulness…_

Nope. That wasn't it. Next. False Awakening Dreams – nope. That wasn't it either. Lucid Dreams – nope. Nightmares – well, it was a nightmare…

_A nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes you to wake up feeling anxious and frightened. They can be a response to a real life trauma and or situations. These types of nightmares fall under a special category called Post-traumatic Stress Nightmare. Nightmares may also occur because you have ignored or refused to accept a particular situation. Nightmares are an indication of a fear that needs to be acknowledged and confronted. It is a way for the subconscious to wake up and take notice._

Well, that was closer, but not quite. It was definitely a nightmare, but there was more to it. "There's got to be something in this stupid book." Kagome whispered to herself as she flipped to the next page. Recurring Dreams. That sounded like hers.

_Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in story or theme. They may be positive, but most often they are nightmarish in content. Dreams may recur because a conflict depicted in the dream remains unsolved or ignored. Once you find a resolution, your recurring dreams will cease._

"Yea right." She whispered.

_Prophetic and Progressive Dreams  
Prophetic dreams, also called psychic dreams, are dreams that foretell the future. One theory to explain these dreams is that your mind is able to piece together bits of information and observation that you may normally overlook. Your unconscious mind knows what is coming before your conscious mind realizes. On the other hand, progressive dreams occur when you have a sequence of dreams that continue over a period of nights. They usually continue where you left off previously._

Kagome closed the book in frustration. _'That wasn't very helpful'_ she thought sadly. _'Guess I'll have to figure this one out on my own.'_ Glancing at the clock, it was now six-thirty, meaning she still had at least another hour before her friends woke up. Placing the book on the table in front of her, she stared at the fireplace once more, ignoring the tiredness that was slowly creeping back into her body. She felt her eyelids close, but as soon as she closed them, she heard the same menacing voice in her mind, causing her eyes to shoot open once again. She reached a hand up to rub her eyes, but stopped mid-movement when she heard someone on the staircase, jumping slightly when she heard her name being called.

"Kagome?"

She turned quickly, eyes wide, but calmed instantly at the sight of Hermione. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?" the girl asked, taking note of her haggard appearance.

Kagome rubbed her eyes tiredly and nodded. "Yea, yea I'm okay. I just…haven't been sleeping well I guess."

"Bad dream?" Hermione nodded toward the discarded book on the table.

"Something like that." Kagome frowned. "I keep having the same dream. I had this book and was hoping it might help me figure out why. Turns out it wasn't the greatest idea I've had. The book was useless."

"Can I ask…"

"What it's about?" Kagome finished for her, giving a tired smile, shaking her head. "It's not something I really want to talk about."

"Have you told anyone? Dumbledore? Harry? Or, I hate to say it, but maybe Professor Trelawney?" Hermione asked, sitting next to her friend. "Maybe they could help?"

"No. I don't want to burden them with my problems. This dream has a meaning, and I have a feeling that it's only something I can figure out." Kagome said sadly.

"But Harry –"

"Has enough to deal with." Kagome said quickly.

"He'd still want to know. He'll worry if you don't." Hermione reasoned.

Kagome paused. Well if she was going to put it like that…no. No, she couldn't tell him yet. "Hermione, you're one of my best friends here, and I trust you, I really do, but…I just have this feeling. Like, something bad might happen if I do say something. I've learned to trust my instincts. I need to keep this quiet a little longer. Please, don't tell him."

Hermione placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You know I can't keep something like this from him. He's my best friend. He'd want to know if one of the people he cared about was hurting or in trouble."

Kagome sighed and looked deep into Hermione's eyes, trying to maybe discern what her friend was thinking. Knowing she was telling the truth, that she would indeed tell Harry, maybe even Dumbledore, that she was having these dreams, made her give a small sigh of defeat. "I'll tell him, but, only if he notices and asks. If he notices that something is bothering me, I'll tell him."

"That's still trying to keep it from him!"

"Hermione," Kagome said firmly, "please, just trust me. I know this isn't something I can keep from him, but I can't have him find out from someone other than me. You can't say anything. I've lost enough sleep over this. I won't have him lose sleep over it too."

Realizing that was the best answer she was going to get, Hermione nodded.

"Thank you." Kagome smiled. "And I'm sorry I've put you in such a difficult position."

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes after that, each lost in their own thoughts, until more members of their house started showing up in the common room. The Weasley twins came downstairs laughing about something, Kagome wasn't sure what, but she figured now was probably a good time to go get Shippo out of bed before he realized she wasn't there. They had started talking to Hermione about something, possibly about Ron, or maybe some prank they did this morning, she couldn't tell, but she heard a bit of their conversation as she headed for the stairs.

"- best prank so far this year." Fred, or was it George, told Hermione, who was shaking her head in a slightly frustrated way.

"Figured we'd best try it out on ickle-Ronnie-kins before we use it on the toad." The other twin continued.

"Honestly, you two are going to get yourselves expelled one of these days if…" that was all Kagome heard as she made it to the top of the stairs. She was starting to feel exhausted from only getting about three hours of sleep, but she didn't care. She'd just get an extra cup of coffee at breakfast or something. She couldn't fall behind in her classes, and that was that. As she stood outside the door to the girl's dorms, she let some of her miko energy flow through her to give her a bit more energy, thinking it might help keep her awake for a bit longer. At least until classes were over. For now, she had to focus on what was ahead of her.

Slipping quietly into the room, she made her way over to her bed where her kit was still sound asleep. He somehow managed to toss all the blankets off him and get them wrapped around his feet. Giggling at the sight, Kagome smiled and started nudging him awake. "Shippo-chan, okiru jikan yo."

Shippo squirmed at her touch. "I don't wanna get up yet." He mumbled.

"Don't make me tickle you out of this bed." Kagome grinned as he shot out of bed and began trying to put on some of the clothes she bought him. "Need some help?" she asked, laughing at how he was trying to put a shirt on.

Shippo looked up at his mother, a slightly frustrated look on his face. "I don't understand how all these things work. Why do people here wear so many clothes?"

"Because this is a completely different era and climate. It gets colder here, so we need to dress warm." Kagome explained as she helped him pull the sweater over his head. She had his other clothes altered to help accommodate his tail, so he didn't have as hard of a time putting those on.

"What are we doing today, mama?" he asked.

"I have classes to attend. You can go with me, or, I can take you to Professor McGonagall and you can help her classes. She said she didn't mind if you stayed in there."

"Would you be mad if I said I wanted to stay with the teacher lady?"

"Not at all. After breakfast, you can follow her to her classroom."

Kagome grabbed her book bag, making sure she had all of her books before taking her son's hand and heading back down to the common room, almost bumping into Harry as she neared the stairs. "I'm sorry! I wasn't really paying attention."

Harry grinned as he straightened his glasses. "It's okay."

"How's your hand? You have detention again tonight, don't you?" Kagome asked.

Harry frowned. "It feels better since you put that stuff on it, but it's only going to get worse again. I have detention all week. I'm at a loss as to what to do at this point. If I say anything, I'll just get in more trouble, but if I don't say anything, that stupid bitch will just keep doing this. And not just to me. She'll do this to everyone who believes me. Everyone already thinks I'm a liar, or that I was wrong to say the truth. I know some of them still blame me for Cedric's death last year."

At the top of the stairs, Kagome turned to face him. "Harry, I need you to listen to me. This is not something you can fight right now." He turned away from her, his eyes on the ground, but Kagome grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. "Look at me." His eyes met hers. "You are not a liar and you are not a bad person. You're a very good person, a very special person. I know you feel helpless right now, but trust me when I say this, that woman will get what's coming to her. It may not be right this second or by our hands, but it will happen. Okay?"

Shippo watched as Kagome helped cheer her friend up. No, not her friend, she had called him her boyfriend. He was glad his mother was happy again. She definitely deserved it after what Inuyasha did to her.

Harry placed a hand on top of one of hers. "Thanks Kagome."

Snickering noises came from behind them, causing them to jump slightly apart. The mischievous faces of Fred and George stared back at them. "C'mon you two! Breakfast won't wait forever!"

Kagome huffed and walked past them, Shippo rushing to keep up with her. "You two are just asking for trouble." The kit said, grinning as he followed his mother down the stairs.

The twins turned to Harry with evil smiles. "Looks like things were getting a bit steamy up here, mate." Fred winked at him. "You were about to kiss her, weren't you?"

Harry blushed, brushing past them and down the stairs. "You were, weren't you!" George laughed. "Fred, looks like little Harry is finally growing up." Laughing, they made their way downstairs again, hoping to make fun of them some more, only finding the common room empty.

"Damn."

"Oh well. Shall we go?"

* * *

"Well, what do we have first today?" Ron asked, shoveling more eggs in his mouth.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Charms is first today, then History of Magic and Herbology."

"Doesn't sound too bad." Kagome smiled. "I'm just glad we have a light workload today. I would love to try and get a nap in before dinner." She reached for another slice of toast, spreading some grape jam on it before taking a bite. "Maybe I'll get a nap in during History of Magic." She said, earning a light glare from Hermione.

"I swear, all of you need to learn to pay attention in that class. It really is important."

"It may be important, but when will we ever actually use all this information?" Harry asked.

"You never know what parts of the past truly affect the future." Kagome stated. "Take my situation for example. I travel to the feudal era of Japan, but usually when I do, I wear my normal clothes from this era. It affects how people look at me, and they ask questions. I try not to answer them, because I don't want to change how they develop as a society."

"That makes sense." Ron nodded. "So if you wear clothes from that era people leave you alone?"

Kagome nodded. "For the most part, yes, because then I look like everyone else."

"Miss Higurashi." Kagome looked up to see Professor McGonagall. "Have you made a decision about what you will do about your son while you are attending classes?"

"I have, Professor. Shippo would like to stay and help you in your class. If you don't mind, that is."

The normally stern looking woman nodded. "Very well. Classes start shortly, please make sure you have everything you will need for today." She said, and walked off.

Shippo watched her leave. "She kinda reminds me of Kaede-baachan. Can I go with her now, mama?"

Kagome nodded. "You may. Meet me back here for lunch, okay? And try not to get into too much trouble."

"Hai, okaa-san. Ittekimasu."

"Itterasshai." Kagome turned to her friends. "Shall we go to class?"

* * *

Charms seemed to move by extra slow that morning. Kagome was sure she heard Professor Flitwick talking and explaining what they were doing. Something about calling objects to you with a spell. '_Accao? Accia? Accio? Something like that…'_ Kagome thought lazily as she watched some of the other students try the spell. A blonde with odd earrings from Ravenclaw managed to get it on the first try, while most of her own housemates could barely get the object to move at all. Hermione seemed to be the only one so far, aside from most of the Ravenclaw students, who was able to call her stack of books to her.

"Accio books." She heard her friend say, and watched as a stack of about five books slowly made their way over to her before landing on the desk.

"Well done!" The rest of you should take some lessons from Miss Granger, here. Ten points to Gryffindor. Miss Higurashi, you next, if you please."

Kagome looked at the pile of books across the room. She'd been watching the others do it, so she knew what she was supposed to do, it was the spell that kept causing her to falter. They were mostly latin, which sometimes gave her trouble when she tried to pronounce them. This one seemed fairly simple though. '_Might as well try.'_ "Accio books." She flicked her wand at the books, amazed as the floated off the table and across the room towards her. As they got closer, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked away, causing the stack of books to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Kagome mentally cringed. That wasn't supposed to happen. She quickly looked to where her attention had been caught and saw nothing. Perhaps the shadow was just her tired mind playing tricks on her. She really needed a nap.

"Sorry, Professor."

"No, no, Miss Higurashi. That was very good. You just need to keep your focus and you'll do fine." The small professor moved on down the line to the other students, while Kagome went back to her own clouded thoughts. When a bell sounded a few minutes later, she was caught off guard and jumped at the noise.

Harry looked at her quizzically. He was starting to notice light dark circles under her eyes. He couldn't recall seeing her this distracted earlier. It might have been just a trick of the light, because when she caught him look at her, she gave him a bright smile and made her way over to him.

"I wish I had been able to sit next to you." She said as they all made their way out of the classroom. "I got stuck next to Seamus, and he kept staring at me during class and blushing when I caught him looking."

Ron laughed. "You'd think he's never seen a girl before."

"He wasn't making you uncomfortable, was he?" Hermione asked. She had seen some of the other guys in their house, and in other houses, looking at her lately. Sure she was pretty, but to downright stare at someone was rude. "You can always tell him to stop."

Shrugging lightly, Kagome adjusted her shoulder bag as they made their way to the dullest class of the day. "No, I'm fairly used to getting stared at. It was just a bit, what's the word…odd, I guess. I've never gotten stared at by people from this era."

They all chuckled at that.

As they neared their next classroom, Kagome noticed Malfoy and a few other Slytherins walk in. "Do we have this class with the Slytherins today?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Hermione said, noticing Kagome's frown. "Don't let them bother you. Malfoy's just a jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else."

Kagome's frown deepened. "I know he's just trying to get to me, but something about his attitude has been bugging me for a while."

"Why's that?" Ron asked. "If you ask me, he's not worth even thinking about."

"I'm a priestess, Ron." Kagome said, turning to him. "I'm not supposed to really hate anybody. And I honestly don't hate him."

"Even after all the crap he's done to you so far?"

Kagome shrugged. "That's what I mean. I can sense auras. He was just trying to get under my skin and anger me. But his aura is conflicted. It's like he's trying to fight against himself"

"Just be careful around him Kagome." Hermione said quietly as they took their seats in the back of the class.

Kagome nodded, turning her attention to their ghost of a professor as he started the lesson. They had recently finished their lessons about Japanese Magic, and had started discussing the "witch hunts" that took place in England during the 15th century.

"Can anyone tell me how many witches and wizards were hunted and killed between the 15th and 18th century?" Professor Binns droned.

Kagome's eyes were starting to droop, but she caught sight of Hermione's hand shooting in the air to answer the question. "Around five hundred deaths have been recorded, sir."

"Do you remember how many of those were actual witches and wizards?"

"Only about three hundred, sir. The rest were muggles, who were possibly framed by other wizards, or were simply mistaken as wizards."

Kagome stopped listening. She was so tired. _'Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a minute.'_ She let her eyes close, still trying to listen to the professor's voice, though now it sounded too far away, and as she drifted further, his voice disappeared completely. She was once again in the dark hallway, but this time, she was farther away, watching as someone else tried to enter the room behind the door. The figure was still only a shadow, but his aura was menacing and foul, almost feeling like a cloud of death.

She tried to walk forward, trying to make as little noise as possible, fearing this figure in front of her. Inching closer, she noticed there was something on the ground. Stopping, fearing the pounding of her heart would give her away, she hid behind the corner of the wall next to her, hoping to hear what was being said. Whatever was being said it didn't sound like a language she understood. Mostly hissing, like a snake. Watching the figure's gaze move downward, she followed his, and almost screamed at the sight. There was a what looked like a very large python snake curling around the figure's feet, though not in a way that was threatening, and just a few feet from them was a body. Harry's body. Her eyes widened, tears threatening to spill, and she felt herself let out a sob. The figure turned, spotting her, and though she couldn't see his face, she saw him smile menacingly at her, almost as if he was saying 'you're next'. Letting out another sob and backing up, she felt something nudging her, pulling her back to reality.

"Kagome!" she heard someone whisper, nudging her again. Her eyes shot open, nearly jumping out of her seat in terror, looking around frantically for the person responsible. Seeing Harry next to her, looking at her worriedly, and obviously still alive, she let her shoulders fall limp and looked away from him. No one else seemed to notice something was bothering her, or that she had even fallen asleep. She let her head fall, hiding her eyes behind her bangs, letting out a shaky breath and a few tears fall. Something bad was going to happen. She knew it.

* * *

The minute class was over, Kagome shot out of her seat and ran out of the room. Her friends watched her go, casting worried glances at each other.

"What'd you do to her this time, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, pushing past them.

Harry didn't say anything, he just continued walking, leaving his friends behind and following in the direction Kagome went. Ron and Hermione looked at each other. "Something's made her upset. I wonder what it was." Ron shrugged.

Hermione looked in the direction her two friends went. "You know, I promised not to say anything, but I wonder if it has anything to do with what she told me this morning."

"What she say?"

She shrugged. "It was more like what she didn't say that has me worried. She said she's been having the same dream almost every night. She wouldn't tell me what it was about, but it's obviously got her shaken up a bit."

"Maybe we should go to Dumbledore."

"No. I promised her I wouldn't say anything. This is something she needs to deal with herself. For now, at least."

"Might as well wait for them at lunch." Ron said, throwing his bag over his shoulder.

Hermione glared at him. "Honestly, Ronald, is food all you ever think about?" He looked at her blankly. "Oh, never mind. Let's just go. I'm sure we'll see them at lunch."

* * *

Harry found Kagome pacing in an empty hallway, hands wringing an invisible piece of paper in front of her, obviously troubled in her thoughts. He watched her for a moment, deciding if he should ask her what was bothering her, but when he saw her punch a nearby wall in her frustration, he knew he had to try and calm her. He came from around the corner, just as she punched the wall again, her hand falling limp beside her and covered in bloody scratches. Yup, she was pissed about something. She was about to hit it again, when she saw Harry approaching her. She was about to turn and walk away from him, but he grabbed her wrist, forcing her to turn back to him. When she fought to get out of his grasp, he held on tighter.

"Let me go, Harry." She said.

"Not until you tell me what's got you so upset."

"It's none of your business." Kagome stopped fighting, but she was determined to not look at him. She didn't want him to see the fear in her eyes. The dream, however short it was this time, had shown her something she feared the most. Death.

"Yes it is!" he nearly shouted. "When you start saying my name in your sleep and crying, it damn well is my business."

"Stop it, Harry!"

"I've seen how tired you've been lately. You're not sleeping."

"It's just a nightmare. It's none of your business!" Kagome tried to pull her hand out of his grasp again, succeeding this time. She turned away from him, trying to hide her face.

"Please," he whispered, "please tell me." He touched her shoulder, feeling her cringe at his touch. "I just want to help."

Kagome let out a small sigh. "You'd think I'd be stronger than this. That after all I've seen and done, something so stupid wouldn't even phase me, that a dream wouldn't have this kind of effect on me."

"Being afraid of something isn't a weakness, you know." Harry said quietly. Kagome looked up at him then, suddenly feeling very foolish for not allowing the one person she wanted to tell try and help her. "You don't always have to be strong. You can ask for help. Ron and Hermione, they're worried too. Something's bothering you. Will you tell me?"

"I must seem like such a hypocrite, especially after what I said this morning."

"No you don't." He moved a piece of hair away from her face. "We just do stupid things when we're scared or worried."

Taking a deep relaxing breath, Kagome tried to get herself to relax. When she looked up at Harry again, he gave her an encouraging smile. "Have you always been this stubborn?" she asked.

He shrugged and smiled. "I hear I get it from my dad."

Kagome shook her head and looked at him seriously. "I've been having this dream for a while now. I started having it shortly after I arrived here, and it's been getting more and more vivid each time. Usually, I'm in a hallway, and there's this door in front of me. It's never been within reach to me, except one time. But that's not all. There's a voice. It's dark, and evil, and it tells me that no one can save me, that my friends won't come for me." She shuddered. "This time, and last night, I saw a figure. I never see his face, but this time it wasn't just him standing there. There was a snake, and they were talking. I couldn't understand any of it, but, that's not what got me so upset. There was a body on the ground, Harry. It was you. You were dead, and I don't know what it means, but it terrified me!"

Harry's face paled. "Are…are you sure? I mean…"

"I'm sure, Harry. I know what I saw."

"It's just, I've been dreaming of a hallway since beginning of term, but I never see anyone else." Kagome looked at him sharply. "Do you think they're connected?"

"I don't know. But for some reason, where ever this place is, it's important. I just don't know why. I've never seen anything like it before." Kagome shook her head. "Maybe I'm just over thinking it."

Harry grabbed the hand she had been hitting the wall with, holding it gently. "Thank you. For telling me, I mean."

Kagome smiled. "I'm sorry I worried you." Looking at her watch to see what time it was, her eyes widened in alarm. "We're so late for Herbology! We need to go now! Oh, and we missed lunch too! Shippo's probably wondering where I am!"

"Hold on a second! If we're already late, there's no use trying to get there now."

"Harry James Potter, you're not suggesting we skip class, are you?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. Besides, the first meeting is tonight. Hermione already sent out notices to the others. We could try and set up a lesson plan of sorts."

Kagome sighed. "Fine. But if we get in trouble, I'm blaming everything on you."

* * *

**So, not much really going on in this chapter, despite how long it is. It was mostly for filler, and to kinda shift focus to this dream that keeps showing up. Next chapter will hopefully have a bit more interest to it. It will have the first DA meeting, possibly the second one too, and a few other things. It's not even started yet though, so it might be another week or so before it's up. For now, you're stuck with this. hehe.**

**Cheers!**


	10. Quick Note - not dead, just busy

Hello readers!

Fear not, this story is NOT dead, nor is it discontinued. I've just been EXTREMELY busy over the last few months, and have had literally no time to even sit down and contemplate writing for pleasure.

I am a full time college student. Because of this, homework will always come first. I will work hard to turn out a new chapter for at least one of my stories during my winter break, but no guarantees. I have a job, bills to pay, chores to do, all that fun adult stuff. These things come first.

Also, my husband and I just bought our first house, so we're moving in about 30 days or less. So things will be fairly hectic for a while as we try and get settled into our new abode.

I just wanted to make sure I posted this to let you see that I'm not dead or anything, I've just been focusing on other important life tasks. I have every intention of continuing my stories, they just might fall to the back burner for a bit. Thank you for your continued support and reviews. They're always great to read.

Cheers!


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